Twice Bound
by nimblnymph
Summary: Life is full of second chances... some of them for good, others not. This is a continuation of the anime. The final chapter and epilogue is now posted. Thank you very much to everyone for reading and enjoying.
1. Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here

CHAPTER 1: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here

Screams and flames. Whips and chains. That was all there was anymore, she thought idly. She'd been good, she'd fought for God... and now in the hour of her need He condemned her to Hell. And it was all for making a contract with a Devil. The barbed whips tore the flesh from her back every four days. They'd let her heal and then do it again. Being nailed to a cross with her back facing out had been painful. Being ripped from that cross, healed and then renailed was agony. She'd stopped screaming long ago and knew they were trying to find new ways to torture her. After all, she'd sold her soul, she was worth nothing to the Devils in Hell.

Rosette cracked her eyes open a little, mouth parched dry and eyes sore. How long? How long had it been since she died? She couldn't remember and really didn't want to. Her eyes met with the crimson ones facing her. Chrono...

He offered a weak smile before biting his lower lip to keep from screaming.

_Bound in life, bound in death and now bound in torment_.

That had been the punishment for killing his own kind. Dying sent Chrono straight back to Hell and into the hands of those who waiting this moment eagerly. His punishment was to be the same as hers. Flogging, healing, flogging again, torn down from the cross, healed, renailed. A constant cycle that repeated itself over and over and over... But at least they were together. Together, they had strength. Together...

"Take this one away," a voice snarled, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Chrono struggled a little as his cross was lifted by two hunched Demons, whimpering and straining against the nails for her. "Rosette..."

No... no... "No... Chrono!"

"ROSETTE!"

She struggled against the nails, struggled to fight for him. They couldn't take him! "CHRONO!" He was gone from her line of sight, the Demon holding the whip cackling. "After all these years... finally a reaction from you! Why didn't I think of that sooner?"

Rosette wished she could make a fist, but her hands had no feeling. The nails were hard and hot, searing into her bleeding flesh. She knew she was a good person. She knew she helped a lot of people. The one sin she commited was to help save her brother.

So why was God punishing her for it?

* * *

Ewan Remington stopped outside the crumbling walls and the broken, twisted gate. 'No Trespassing' signs hung outside, so faded he wouldn't have been able to read them normally. Except, he knew what they were because he put them there. When the Order of Magdalene moved and went underground, this place had been burned to the ground, leaving only crumbling remains to show that a building had in fact stood there.

Picking his way carefully through the ruins, his hair matted and dirty, about a week's growth stubbling his cheeks, he once again cursed his immortality, and cursed the one to give it to him. The Father... what kind of father abandoned his child?

_"Sister Rosette... she WILL be received in Heaven... won't she?"_

The words that Sister Kate had spoken still haunted him nearly eighty years later. And... he'd sinned. He'd sinned by lying to her, telling her that she would be admitted to those pearly gates. He told her that... and she probably knew he'd lied. Heaven was a hypocracy. It was why he'd come to earth in the first place. It didn't matter how much good the girl had done, she was still tainted with Hell's blood. Chrono owned her soul. And even though he released it when he died, Heaven wasn't going to collect it. Allow such filth the stain their shining whiteness? Absurd!

That was why when Malachi had come and offered him his old position back in God's sight, he'd given him the finger. The Messenger had been furious at the rude gesture and stormed off, eyes crackling with lightening bolts. It was that night that he heard the Voice. He hadn't heard it in centuries, but the attitude hadn't changed at all.

_You scorn my Messenger, you scorn me. Remain there then, if it pleases you. The immortality you keep, as you are still in my favor. But you will no longer have your wings._

Fine, what did he need them for anyway? Remington sighed, finding his way through the overgrown grass and weeds to a place he knew very well. It was clean and free, the simple grey stone wet from the early evening mist. He knelt in front of the tombstone, fingers drifting over the carved letters familiarly. Rosette Christopher... Physically, she'd been barely a woman when she died. Fifteen years old... but with the mentality (at times) of someone much older. She'd suffered greatly for their Lord... and she suffered still more in the hands of His enemies.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," he whispered, tears stinging his eyes. Everytime he came here, he wept for her and for Chrono. Chrono was more noble than any servant of God. How could anything evil care so much for one insignificant human being that he died when she did? Before his visit from Malachi and the dream of the Voice, he'd prayed to God to show mercy on them both. Every. Single. Day. And... nothing for it.

Remington blinked the tears away, taking a deep, shaky breath and letting it out. He looked at his watch quickly, standing up, and pulled out the letter he'd received not even four days ago. He'd been asleep near a dumpster and woken up when he felt the familiar rush of wings against his face. Expecting an angel, he found only a folded and typed letter with a single black feather. Angels didn't have black wings, and it was too long and perfectly shaped to be a bird. That alone had intrigued him. That and the contents of the letter.

_To Whom It May Concern,_

_Evil is rising again. I know you're aware of it's presence and name. I know also that you're reluctant to do God's work in this matter, but all I ask is five minutes of your time and your aid in helping me find those who can and will help._

_What I intend to do is forbidden by both Heaven and Hell. In the end, both of us may lose our wings, but it will bring back those needlessly punished. Meet me at the marker by nine o'clock in the evening on March the fourteenth. I will eladorate further then and more properly introduce myself._

Remington knew exactly who and what the letter was refering to. He'd spotted Aion almost three months ago, walking down Times Square. Aion had been ressurected... how, by whom and why still remained a mystery. Even now, despite his issues with God, Remington couldn't just stand by and watch the Demon throw the three worlds into chaos. It was his damned noble character that kept him from sitting back and watching.

Footsteps came, snapping on a twig. A lightly uttered curse and then a dark figure came into view. Remington stepped forward, eyes narrowed as his mystery person came into view. The man was tall and thin with broad shoulders. His skin was a very pale white with a faint white glow to it that bespoke of him being something other than human. His hair was short, dark and neatly kept, and all he could see of the man's clothing was a very warm, expensive looking cashmere black coat that covered all but his dress slacks.

"Mr. Ewan Remington?" he asked. His voice was a cultured British one that bespoke of prep schools and blue blood. But, there was an odd musical quality to it that didn't fit with the stuffy appearance.

"What do you want?" Remington bit out sharply, blue eyes narrowed.

The man smiled slowly. His teeth... he had fangs! This was a Devil before him. "No need to be uncivil, Mr. Remington. I'm not your enemy."

"Are you the one who sent this letter?"

"I am. I know everything there is to know about the Order of Magdalene, you... Rosette Christopher and Chrono the Sinner." He laughed bitterly. "Only in stories, of course, passed down by my dear mother. But, I do feel as if I know them very well."

"Who are you?" Remington asked softly, gut twisting in a way that might possibly make him sick.

The man smiled again, the bright white of his fangs catching a little in the moonlight. "How terribly rude of me! I'm so sorry, please forgive me. My name is Asmodius."

A Latin name... a _Demon_ name. "I have no business with your kind. Leave this place!"

"You didn't let me finish, Mr. Remington. My name is Asmodius. Asmodius _Hendric_."

Remington's jaw dropped, eyes wide. No... "As in..."

Asmodius' nodded, digging his designer shoes into the grass. "As in Azmaria Hendric's son. My mother was one of the Order... but you already knew that. What you probably didn't know is that she also found comfort from a Devil... one who gave everything he had to ensure our safety. My father's name was Peccatus, the Lord of Hellfire. He was extremely powerful and very well off, in both this world and Hell. And, he fought my mother at first."

"I remember that," Remington murmured, memory flashing back. "Peccatus staged a rebellion in Hell, taking any who would follow him to this world, where they're forbidden to be."

"Yes, exactly. My mother captured him and was going to send him back to Hell when he begged her to listen to his story. He told her of why he wished to leave, how he and his followers wanted to repent and God wouldn't listen. All they wanted was a haven."

"And that is why she fought so hard for sanctuary for the Repenters. I thought it was for Chrono."

Asmodius laughed again, the bitterness still laced with that sound. "For him and my father and others unhappy with their lives. She did it for them. And when the assassins came for us, my father used what power he had to protect us and destroy our would-be killers. My mother was never the same after that. She never sang again, not even when I begged her to. And, eventually, she died."

"She died nearly sixty years ago."

"And I still look so young." He laughed again, running gloved fingers down his smooth skin. "Because of my father, I'm immortal and inherited some of his power." Pulling his hand away, a blackish flame hovered over his palm. Hellfire, about the only thing that could kill both Angel and Devil alike. There was no cure for it once it touched you, no way of putting it out. It burned and consumed you right to the soul. "And from my mother, I received the graces of God." There was a creaking sound and slowly large black feathered wings spread from his back, his skin glowing bright enough to cast shadows. Two small black horns twisted from his head. "I am neither Devil nor Angel, but I can walk both their worlds with only a few suspicious glances."

"As interesting as this all is, what has this to do with me or _them_?" Remington demanded, heart in his throat.

Stepping closer, Asmodius' wings folded and disappeared back into his human disguise. Clasping his hands behind his back, he leaned in and whispered, "I want to bring them back. And I need divine intervention, so to speak, to do it."

Gasping and stepping back, Remington stared at the man in horror. "That's not right! It's not-,"

"-Allowed, yes I know the litany through and through. My mother died regretting she hadn't been able to help them. My father was fighting the very chaos that Aion wants to bring. I'm not doing this out of charity, though I feel for the souls of those two. I'm doing this out of guilt for my parents' deaths. And I believe you will help me for that same reason. What do you say? You'll never be admitted to Heaven again, and Hell won't take you. You and I have nothing to lose by pissing the Higher Beings off. We alone cannot stand against Aion and his new allies. Rosette Christopher and Chrono the Sinner are our only guarantee for survival. So, what will you decide?"

Remington hesitated, torn between two conflicting beliefs. On the one hand, he would give anything to bring them both back and let them have a second chance at happiness. On the other, what this man proposed went against both God and Satan. Once it was done, there was no going back. All four of them would be damned for eternity in limbo, stuck between the two worlds of light and darkness. But... he was already there, as Asmodius said. Sighing, he spread his hands from his side. "You have me. What needs to be done?"

Asmodius smiled again, his pale blue eyes sparking in the darkness. "First, I need to get the Sinner. And you need to unearth her grave. I have a private plane waiting a mile up the road in a corn field. You can't miss it. Take her there, the pilot will know where to go."

"And where _will_ I be going?"

"To my house. In England. When you land, my assistant, Tegan, will help you. I can't say exactly how long I'll be, but I shouldn't say more than four hours, five top."

"So all I have to do is dig her up?" Remington asked skeptically.

Asmodius clapped a hand to his shoulder, smirking. "For now," he answered. "When I return, you'll know the rest. And please pass along a message to Tegan that I will need medical care immediately upon my arrival." The man disappeared out the way he came, a quick flurry of heavy wings telling the other man that he'd taken off into the shadows.

Remington stood rooted to the spot, still trying to process everything. To bring them back... it was secretly what he'd longed for these past seventy-eight years. "I only hope this isn't too good to be true," he murmured before walking off to teh ruined gardening shed to see if maybe a shovel had been left behind.

* * *

It was time for him to heal. Chrono hissed as the nails were yanked from his hands and feet and he was dumped off of the wooden cross onto the burning grounds of Hell. He was too weak to use his true form, and so his smaller one was burned by the fires and steam beneath him. But he didn't care. His caring about his fate stopped when they took him from her. _Rosette..._ He'd dragged her down here. It was sealed the day they made their contract. When he returned to Hell, she was going with him. She knew this, but trusted that God would forgive her sin and accepted her. And he'd trusted it, too. If he didn't, he would have refused the contract made by a twelve year old girl. He thought he knew all about God and His motives. He thought for certain someone as good and caring as Rosette would surely make peace.

Hadn't he done it right? He'd seen the Last Rites performed so many times over the course of thousands of years. He knew the words and the actions inside and out, knew that Rosette had believed in it when he'd given it to her. And really, it was only the belief in those words and those actions that mattered, right? So why was she being punished for it?

It was because he was a Devil, he thought bitterly, his skin tingling as it healed the wounds rapidly, his supernatural body making short work of it. Soon enough, they'd start again, but for now he could rest. Because he was a Devil and he'd given her the Last Rites. That was why. Everything that was happening to her was because of him! Chrono closed his eyes, shuddering. Because he's a Devil...

_Chrono..._

His eyes flew open, brow drawing down. What... Someone was calling his name. He could hear it in his mind more than with his ears. Who was calling him...

_The Sinner..._

His heart lurched and his breath rattled from his chest in a gasp. His names...

_The Crooked Horn..._

Someone was calling his names! They were trying to summon him. "N-no..." If he was summoned...

_The Ignoble One_...

Then he wouldn't be here...

_Kinslayer..._

With Rosette. Chrono screamed as the final name was whispered out...

_The Merciful One..._

The ground began to tremble and shake, fire breaking from the cracks to lick the darkened ceiling. Voice screamed in anger, hands grabbed at him as he was suddenly ripped from the floor and hurled upward into darkness. "ROSETTE!" _Don't take me from her again!_

He was slammed into the cold earth, shivering and panting for breath, sweating even as his breath fogged the air. He was naked, too, and his stomach felt ready to explode any minute. Rolling over, he complied, dry heaving into the grass, almost too weak to support his own weight. A hand colder than the dark air itself touched his shoulder, muttered words of comfort said near his back. Tears scalded his cheeks, hotter than even hellfire and more damaging to him. Rosette... she was still there. He had to go back... but he couldn't, not until his summoner was through with him.

"Chrono, answer me. How do you feel?"

"C-c-cold... and... s-scared," he stuttered out, voice cracking slightly. He was still in his small form, unable to change. His summoner should have been aware that he wouldn't be much good in this form. Why bring him when there were plenty others to summon more healthy?

"I understand, truly I do. She's still there... but not for long."

For the first time, Chrono, still shivering with more than cold, looked at his summoner. A pale man with blue eyes and short black hair. His skin was too luminescent for human. Narrowing his eyes, he used his second sight, the one that detected anything supernatural, and stared again. Black feathered wings were outlined dimly in the night... skin shone like the moon was trapped beneath it... his eyes glowed with the light of Heaven... and two small black horns protruded from his head. A Demon and Angel? That was... "Y-you're a... heretic!"

The man smiled and gave a short bitter laugh. "That's not the worst thing I've been called. You're right, though, I'm a heretical being. But I've come to bring you back into this world. You need a contract to stay... I can offer you that."

So... THAT was why he'd been summoned! This man, this... _thing_... wanted to make a contract with him! He didn't understand why. The man was powerful enough to summon him from the bottom circle of Hell. It wasn't something just anyone could do, which meant he knew the dark arts very well. Why would he need a contract with Chrono. "N-n-no... deal! Send me b-back."

The man blinked in surprise before laughing again. "You misunderstand me, Chrono! _I_ don't want a contract with you. I want you to make another contract... with Rosette Christopher.

The rage bubbled up, overwhelming the confusion and hope screaming in the back of his mind. Chrono shoved the man away with a snarl. "She's dead! I can't make a contract with the dead! How dare you summon me for this! Release me NOW!"

"Very well, I release you from the binding circle, but you are not dismissed from this world." There was a pale flash as the salt circle lit up and was absorbed back into the earth.

Chrono stood shakily, legs wobbling from underneath him. The man caught his arm, helping him stand up before removing his warm coat and putting it over his shoulders. "It's too cold even for a Devil to be out. Come with me, Chrono, and I'll explain everything. Hold on to me, we're going to use the astral lines."

"Can you do that?" He knew the man would be more than capable of handling the lines on a normal occassion. But pulling a Demon from the inner circle took a great deal of strength.

"I'll manage. So, are you coming with me?"

Glaring angrily, fists balling inside the large coat, Chrono bit out sharply, "I don't really have a choice, do I? You won't dismiss me until I do."

The man smiled and shrugged. "You have it about right." He held his hand out.

Chrono took it, still glaring. "I didn't get a name."

The smile widened, showing his fangs. The black wings broke free and the horns as well. It wasn't until they were flying up into the swirling green and gold mass that he had his answer. "Asmodius Hendric."

He only had time for a startled wide eyed stare before the sharp sting of entering the lines flooded him and they were sent careening to wherever this man was taking them.


	2. A New Life

CHAPTER 2: A New Life

Remington peered out the window of the plane into the darkness below. The only sight he had of their final destination was the small runway lit up to guide them in and a towering mansion with the windows glowing soft yellow. He knew the minute they entered the England airspace; he'd almost been sick twice from the turbulance. The fog as they made their final descent thickened until he doubted very much the pilot could see where he was going. He gripped the seat hard, closing his eyes as the plane jerked and grumbled noisily.

"We're almost there, sir," the pilot called back.

"Oh, good," Remington answered dryly, still not releasing his death grip on the seat. The cargo next to him slid a little, the straps holding it pulling tightly against the metal hooks.

The soft thump of the airplane wheels hitting pavement and then the continued rattling as it skidded to a stop made him open his eyes slowly, peering out into the rain. The pilot was issuing off orders through his head phones and giving a status check to the awaiting attendants on the ground. Finally, he stood up, taking the headphones off, and grinned back at Remington. "They're getting the departing ramp ready, sir. It shouldn't be more than a few more minutes. I've radioed in for extra help with the... uh, package."

It was obvious the man didn't feel very comfortable carting a coffin across the ocean to England. It was also obvious his boss' money would keep him quiet. Sighing, Remington unfastened the seat belt and got to his feet, stretching his arms over his head. He felt a little out of place on the luxury plane, sitting in his weeks of filth and ratty clothing on a suede covered chair, drinking scotch from a Swarovski crystal tumbler. And it was good scotch, too. Clearly the Hendric family was very well off indeed.

The hatch door opened and a black umbrella came in first followed by a woman. She was average height, not skinny but certainly not overweight, with dark brown hair and slightly lighter brown eyes. Her skin was pale and she wore tasteful make-uo the emphasized her wide eyes. She was wearing an ivory trench coat over black pants. "Mr. Ewan Remington, I presume," she said, her voice deep and a little throaty with the accent.

"Yes. And you are?"

"Tegan Montgomery. It's a pleasure, sir. I assume you've met and listened to Asmodius already?" They shook hands quickly before she was leading him off the plane and out into the drizzle of early morning rain.

"I wouldn't be here if I hadn't," he answered pleasantly, turning his face up briefly into the soft mist of water. The air was cool, damp and thick with fog. So think it made breathing an unpleasant affair. A shadow crossed his line of sight and it took him a second to realize it ws Tegan's umbrella. She smiled and shrugged to suggest it was only proper. He followed close beside her under the umbrella to a little covered golf cart waiting to the side.

"I'll have them bring your luggage up to the house, Mr. Remington. Asmodius called not long ago to ask that a room be prepared for you. He also said to tell you that he has the Sinner and will be arriving here in roughly an hour."

So... he managed to bring Chrono back. "_Just_ the Sinner?" His heart sank into his beat up shoes. No Rosette? But hadn't he said that he needed both of them?

"For now. Once we're inside and you're cleaned and fed, I'll be glad to go into more details," she answered, turning just enough to give him a reassuring smile.

"And what exactly is your role in all this?"

Tegan's smile grew a little wider but she wouldn't look at him. "I'm a necromancer, Mr. Remington. I'm the one who's going to restore Rosette Christopher's body."

* * *

Chrono fell asleep in the heretics arms. He was just so tired, emotionally and physically. All he could see when his lids dropped down though were big blue eyes. _It's like a summer sky when you look in them. So full of warmth and caring... why can't I go back to her?_ That was all he wanted. He hated being in this world while he knew what they were doing to her in Hell. The arm around his waist tightened a little as he shivered.

"We're almost there, Chrono," that voice whispered soothingly in his ear. "Almost there and then you can rest."

"But... Rosette..."

"We'll talk about her after you've rested a bit. You're little use to me, or her, in this condition. If you want to save her, be patient and get strong again."

His eyes fell closed again and he slept through the rest of the journey through the lines hearing her scream from the first time their punishment had started. _Rosette... I won't leave you there!_

* * *

"My, my, you do clean up nicely!"

Remington smiled at that, his usual charm returning quickly with the use of a hot shower, a razor and clean (expensive) clothing. "You're certain Asmodius won't mind about the cloths?"

Tegan waved it away, her features twisting into a scoffing expression. "His words were, 'Make him look like a gentleman'. I'd say I did that. Oh, I thought maybe we might eat dinner here while we wait for Asi to come back. Unless you'd prefer the dining room, Mr. Remington?"

"No, here is just fine. And you can call me Ewan. 'Mister' is too close to 'father' for my liking."

She smiled and motioned to one of the burgundy leather chairs in front of the fire. This room was obviously Asmodius' library and office. A high tech computer sat on one side of the deeply stained cherry wood desk with a fax machine, scanner and printer next to it. Papers were neatly organized, books all facing with their spines out and easily read. It positively gleamed with cleanliness. "We didn't know what you'd like... so I asked the cook to prepare chicken. Everyone likes chicken."

Remington took a seat, smiling. His stomach lurched as the delicious spices of home cooked food hit his nose hard. It had been a few days since he'd last eaten. He may be immortal, but his body still required food for strength. Tegan prepared a simple white plate for him, handing him a fork he knew to be real silver. She set a crystal goblet of white wine on the little table between the two chairs before sitting herself down with her own plate. The first bite was almost the end of him. Remington closed his eyes, savoring it for as long as he could, chewing very slowly. He hadn't eaten like this in _years_! Once that bite was gone, he quickly dove into the rest of it, being as careful as he could of his surroundings and his borrowed clothing. She watched him for a moment with a slight quirk to her lips before eating at a more leisurely pace.

Half way through the second helping that she automatically put on his plate without asking, Remington finally slowed down enough to dab at his lips with the napkin and talk to her about this plan. "So... you're a necromancer?"

"That's right," Tegan answered, sipping her wine. "I came out when I was about thirteen. My boyfriend at the time dumped me and I was angry. Unfortunately, my ability ended up raising his dead grandparents who he woke up to find staring down on him."

Remington's eyes widened. He could just imagine the poor boy's horror! "My question is simply this; as far as I've ever been able to discern, a necromancer fills a corpse basically with their own spirit. How is having you raise Rosette going to help at all? She'll just be the corpse of herself."

"All I'm doing is repairing the damage done to her physical body. I can heal the flesh and make it liveable again... but that's all I'm doing. If we were to restore her soul into the corpse as is, she'd look like a walking corpse forever."

"And my part in all this is... what? I don't have the ability to reclaim her soul from Hell. I can't beg at God's feet for Him to restore her. What do you need me to do?"

Tegan set her glass aside, dark lashes lowering a little over her eyes. "We don't need you to reclaim her soul. Her soul belongs to Chrono and only he can bring it back and give it to her again. What's required of you is... a little tricky to explain." Her cheeks turned pink as she quickly took a bite of chicken.

Remington waited, knowing she would tell him. His heart was beating faster with excitement. So far, everything he'd heard was plausible enough. Asmodius had access to Hell to reclaim Chrono. Chrono had Rosette's soul. Tegan would repair the physical body. And he... would do something.

Finally, she put her fork to one side and said, "When Rosette and Chrono made their initial contract, it was a standard Devil-human contract. She gave him her soul, he gave her his services. But, it was obviously flawed. One would have to die for the other to live. It's not symbiotic and it's not healthy for either soul involved. Asi's mother found the loophole to this... the only problem with it is that it's a holy rite, one that can only be done by a servant of God. Which, despite your obvious grudge against the Lord, you still are. Azmaria Hendric loved a Demon. Peccatus loved her back. And when two people are in love, naturally they..."

He all but spit his wine across the room. Blue eyes bulging from his sockets, he choked on the wine, hitting his chest hard. When he was finally able to speak in a strained voice, he gasped, "You surely CAN'T be serious about this!"

* * *

Chrono's eyes opened as they left the astral lines. The sudden absence of that electric like zing told him when they did. He turned his head enough to see they were approaching the ground outside a large house with only a few windows lit. The moon was nearing the midnight position as the heretic's black wings beat hard and strong to control their landing. Once on the ground, he was let go to lean wearily on his summoner.

"Were the lines too much for you, Chrono?"

He shook his head, eyes blinking in the darkness. He just wanted to go back.

The man smiled, wings tucking back and disappearing behind the human illusion. "Let's go in, shall we? My servants will take care of you."

"Servants... paid ones or worshiping?" This man knew the dark arts very well. It wouldn't have surprised him in the least to learn he had worshiping servants.

The man laughed pleasantly, opening the front door and motioning Chrono in. "Paid. I'm hardly an object of worship, am I?"

"They don't know that... humans will believe anyone is a god." He went inside with that mumbled comment, picking up the faint amused laugh from his summoner.

"Too true, Chrono. Forgive me, but it's odd hearing such things coming from someone who looks no more than fifteen or sixteen years old."

Chrono ignored that. This one was still very young, no more than maybe eighty or ninety years old. He had a few thousand years on him, but no physical strength to back it up at this point. He barely registered the rich rug he was shuffling across or the pieces of art that should have probably been in a museum. Or the open door leading into a library where two people were talking.

A female dressed in a black uniform with a white apron came up to them, smiling. "My lord, may I take your coat?"

"No, thank you, Marnie. Please show our guest to one of the west wing rooms. Preferably the one over looking the lake."

"Of course, my lord. Sir, if you would follow me, please."

Giving his summoner one last exhausted look, Chrono followed the maid down the hall and up a flight of stone steps to the second floor. His eyes adjusted to the heavier darkness on this floor easily and he could make out the shapes of armored suits, more priceless art, antique furniture and unlit wall sconces. They turned down another hall and came to a stop outside a door not too far down. The maid pulled a ring of keys from her side and unlocked the door.

"Here you are, sir," she said with another smile, bowing slightly.

Chrono didn't even glance at her, almost too numb to drag himself to the large bed and flop down on it, spent to the point of wishing he could die for real. Devils didn't die easily. When Rosette had... when she... when their contract was up, he was returned to Hell with her. Claws dug into the soft bed spread hard enough to break through the fabric. His summoner needed him strong for something big. He could either lie here and not get better, thus thwarting whatever the summoner wanted. A small satisfaction, but at the price of remaining longer from Rosette. Or, he could get better quickly, get this job done and go back to her. It would mean doing something he didn't necessarily want to do... but if he could return to her sooner, he didn't mind at all.

Sighing and dragging himself out into the middle of the bed where the moonlight flooded it, he stretched out much like he'd been on the cross except he was lying on his back instead of his front. He closed his eyes. Three in the morning was the true witching hour. By then, he should be ready for whatever his summoner required. And then return to Hell.

* * *

Remington glanced over at the door as he sensed a darker presence. His eyes fell on Asmodius who, though looking exhausted, smiled and pulled up a third chair. "Tegan was kind enough to tell me what you require of me."

"Oh?" Not a flicker of anything but mild amusement in those blue eyes. He was far too young of an immortal to have such a jaded look.

"And I must say, that is the most original use of Catholic dogma I've ever heard of."

Asmodius laughed softly, taking the wine Tegan passed over to him. "Christ sealed it with those few words. 'What you hold true here on Earth, I shall hold true in Heaven.' A little known clause, but effective for our means."

Remington smiled at that, still a bit overwhelmed by all this. Tegan poured the last of the wine into his glass and got up to clear the plates.

"You can leave that, Tegan," Asmodius said.

She smiled and shook her head. "You know me, Asi. Neat freak extraordinaire."

The half-breed acknowledged this with a wave of his hand, watching as she left. "Did she happen to mention who Aion's new friends are?"

Shaking his head and sipping some more wine, Remington said, "No, not a word. We talked mainly of getting Rosette and Chrono back. And of your mother and father. Azmaria was a good person. Very smart, too, to have figured this out."

Asmodius sighed, slouching down in his chair. "She didn't figure it out quickly enough. By the time she did, my father was already truly dead. Destroyed by those he wished to save."

He was refering to the Third Betrayal of Blood, as the Devils called it. Some of the Repenters, led by Nefas the Damned, broke the covenant they made with the Order and went on a killing spree. When the Repenters and some of the Fallen (angels, like him, cast from Heaven for some reason or another) tried to contain this rampage, they'd turned on their own kind. He'd heard Peccatus had been destroyed utterly in this conflict, but he'd had no idea what the Devil had meant to Azmaria. It explained why soon after she just vanished. No one had known about the child or her Devil lover. Not a single soul.

A sigh from his half-breed companion drew his eyes back over. Asmodius closed his eyes, lacing his long pale fingers over his stomach. "But we'll have time later to discuss my mother. Aion has returned and this time he has backers. Powerful backers. Ever hear of the Seven Sinners?"

Once more that night, Remington almost spit his wine across the room. "They have a pact with both Satan and God. For their freedom, they were to remain neutral to this world. Earth was to be their prison, and here they may roam." The Seven Sinners had joined the rebellion in Heaven for the side of Satan. But, once in Hell, they sought to overthrow their new lord and take over for themselves. Since God had banned them from Heaven and Satan banned them from Hell, it was agreed that they remain on Earth as a way of testing human resolve. They would feed off of the vices they represented, and in turn would not plan an attack on either side.

"The Seven Sinners have summoned Aion back to this world. We don't know what purpose they have for it, but they've woken him."

"Aion is a very charismatice Devil," Remingtom explained softly, staring into the flames. The Seven Sinners... they were once in the highest order of Angels. "The Sinners' power comes from human weakness. The less there is, the weaker they are. These recent riots... the greed... all of it is being spurred by Aion. That is why they have him. God and Satan forbade them from directly influencing humans. Aion has no limitations. He's turning the humans into batteries to feed the Seven Sinners."

Asmodius nodded, tapping his lips thoughtfully. "Yes, that _would_ make sense. But we need confirmation. None of my contacts are speaking. They're too afraid that one of the Seven Sinners will pay a visit."

Remington gave a bitter little laugh. "And I offended all the contacts on my end. I can't help you there."

"I... know someone," a voice said softly from the door way.

Both turned to find Chrono leaning against the frame, looking much better than when he'd first been brought in. He was wearing a white shirt and jeans, which it was obvious he wasn't comfortable in. Asmodius smiled, beckoning him forward. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know what's going on," Chrono answered, coming forward slowly, eyes narrowed and suspicious. Eyes the color of freshly shed blood flickered over to acknowledge Remington's presence before he took the seat Tegan had vacated earlier. "I know who to ask... but I want to know why I was summoned and for what purpose first."

It was always a little disturbing to hear that commanding tone come from such a young person, Remington mused. Chrono without Rosette was something utterly different. It was easier to believe he was a Devil like this. Rosette had a quality to her that made the red-eyed Devil more gentle... not tamed but content. He had only briefly encountered Chrono unfettered and in full form. It had been enough to make an impression for the rest of his days.

"First, are you hungry? I can send for the kitchen if you'd like," Asmodius offered, always the gentleman. Remington wondered briefly if the polite facade was truly real, or if he used it as a mask to hide behind.

"No. I'll eat later. Right now, I want answers." There was no spoken threat, but it was evident in the slight growl creeping into his voice.

Asmodius' face registered mild surprise at the answer but he quickly recovered with a polite nod of his head, folding his hands over his stomach as he slouched in his chair. "You were once Aion's ally. You know his strengths and his weaknesses. I've summoned you from Hell to help me stop him from finishing what was started almost eighty years ago."

"You said something about making a contract with... Rosette." The pain in saying her name was more than obvious to the other two.

"I did," the half-breed continued slowly. "We're going to bring Rosette back for this fight. She is, despite being in Hell, one of the Virtues. Justice, I believe it was. All the other Virtues have long passed and been accepted into Heaven's embrace. To pull them from that back to this Earth would be torture. Rosette's in Hell. Anything's better than that."

Chrono closed his eyes, jaw clenched tightly. "This isn't allowed," he said after a pause. "By the laws of Heaven and Hell, this isn't allowed."

"It's not, you're right," Remington jumped in, interupting anything Asmodius was about to say. "But, my question to you, Chrono, is this; do you believe she deserved that punishment? The only reason she wasn't admitted to Heaven was-,"

"-Because of me. She's there because I am what I am."

Remington sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was almost four in the morning. Damned jet lag! "This is a chance to change all that, Chrono. Only you have the ability to save her... you do, after all, hold her soul."

Chrono's eyes opened, narrowing down as he studied the flames. The fire reflected back through his crimson eyes, and in that one moment he looked more Devil than even his true form. "I used to hold her soul," he whispered. "The watch seal was taken when we entered in. They stripped us of everything we had. The seal with her soul is still in Hell. And the Devil holding it isn't one to be reasoned with."

The very air seemed sucked from the room. Asmodius slouched down so far in his chair he might as well have been sitting on the floor. "I can't manage another trip into Hell. Not tonight. This will have to wait until tomorrow."

Crimson eyes snapped over to him, the pupils flashing to angry black slits before returning. "No," Chrono snarled, clawed hands balling into fists. "Rosette comes back or I break the summons."

That got both the half-breed and the Angel's attentions. "How do you propose to do that? Your powers are at my disposal as the summoner." Asmodius asked softly. The whites of his eyes were being swallowed up in that icy blue flame, his skin glowing faintly.

Remington stood slowly as both of the other men did as well. Chrono's strength had returned quicker than he'd thought. Already the dark violet hair was being whipped around in a breeze that seemed to consentrate itself around the small body, which was beginning to pulse with a reddish light. "You broke the circle binding me to that spot and therefore gave up any assurance on your safety. A summons doesn't exist if the summoner is dead," came the deathly soft reply. The Sinner's voice was dropping dramatically lower, taking on an almost animal-like growl.

"Enough, both of you!" Remington shouted, stepping between the two. A white light flashed and both were flung into their chairs. Glaring at both, he walked over to the fire, using the poker to stoke it a bit. "A dominance display is not what we need. Asmodius, are you certain you can't make a return visit?"

"Positive," he answered, smoothing his hands down his slacks, eyes slowly returning to normal. "Breaking through the circles of Hell, summoning Chrono from that depth and then traveling the lines has me completely wiped."

"You don't need to break in when you're a full Devil," Chrono answered with a slight curl of his lip. Remington shook his head. He'd heard of dominance struggles being normal when Devils interacted... but he hadn't expected it from a half-breed and Chrono! "I can get in, but there'll be trouble getting back out. You think you can handle that, _immunda cruentus_?"

"CHRONO!" Remington shouted, apalled by the usually gentle Devil's use of such a foul term. Chrono winced at the sharp reprimand, years of hearing it directed at him and his contractor making it more habit than actual acceptance.

The only reaction the term brought from Asmodius was a slight twitch of his eyes. "I can, don't worry about that," he answered softly. He made a small bow of his head, keeping his eyes from Chrono.

The tension eased out of the room with that one gesture. Asmodius had acknowledged Chrono the dominant one. Chrono shifted uncomfortably and mumbled, "Sorry... just a little shaken still, that's all."

Asmodius made no reply to this. Remington sighed again, wiping the sweat beads that had started on his brow. He was glad they'd settled things peacefully. He didn't really feel like being caught in a fight between allies! "Then, if it's not a problem, why don't you two get it over with now? We need that watch in order to complete this."

Getting to his feet, Chrono knelt in front of the fire place. "Fath-...er, I mean..." His cheeks flushed dark pink as he tried to think what to call the man he was so used to in a priest's militia uniform.

"Ewan. You may call me Ewan now, Chrono," Remington supplied.

Nodding, the Devil turned back to the fire. "You should probably step back a little then. The Light might alert someone."

Remington knew what he was talking about. Angels, no matter how hard they disguised themselves as humans, always gave off a light (the Light of God) whenever Devils were around, a light only other Angels and Devils could see. He stepped back and to the side, watching Chrono as best he could.

Chrono rolled the sleeve of his left arm back, lips moving silently as words were uttered. A wind snapped through the room, gathering in the fire place. The fire didn't go out but instead began to grow taller and wider. No heat came from it. Remington shielded his eyes against the glare as the flames took the vage shape of a doorway. As he peered inside, it was all he could do to keep from gasping. Bodies twisted in the flames inside, faces engulfed and burning, skin melting and reforming in a constant cycle. Dear God, was this where Rosette had gone? His resolve built at the thought of such a wonderful girl being subjected to this. He returned his gave to Chrono, who was still muttering words and using his right hand to fling something into the fiery doorway. It took him a second to realize it was blood. A long thin cut ran down his bare arm from where he'd used his claw to make the slice.

"I think that should do it," the Devil said, eyes skimming over the doorway. "The blood should hold them in. When you see me returning, reach in and pull me out. Otherwise, I'll be stuck behind the seal." Taking a deep breath, rotating his neck a bit, Chrono crossed over the threshold, his smaller form expanding into the much taller, more imposing one of his true self.

Both men watched as the flaming figures reached for him only to draw back screaming in his wake. Remington remained fixed in his darkened corner, fighting the natural urge of an Angel to charge in and save those people. Asmodius moved a chair in front of the doorway, crossing his legs at the ankles and prepared to wait for however long it would take.

* * *

The whips stopped. Three, two, one...

_Hiss... CRACK!_

Rosette bit her lip as the next round started. Ever since they'd taken Chrono from her, they'd changed their punishment. A hundred lashes or so, pause for about ten seconds, and then another hundred. They paused just long enough for her to relax before starting up again. She knew they weren't whipping her physical body. That had remained behind. This was her soul being tormented. It didn't change the fact that she could feel every throb, every rip of new skin, every crack sinking in until it met bone. Just over and over and over...

Where did they take Chrono? Why had they taken him? The orders had been for them to suffer together. With him there, she could almost believe they were back in those wonderful summer days. Just Chrono and Joshua and her. All of them happy and smiling...

_Rosette!_

Rosette's flew open. She wanted to pick her head up and answer that call, but she couldn't, not with the whip snapping so close to her head. _Chrono!_ She cried it wordlessly, tears stinging her cheeks. Was he there? She could hear him...

The whip stopped again. Three, two, one...

And it didn't fall.

Rosette opened her eyes again... and met flaming blood-red eyes. "Chro...no." The flames glanced off something gold and shiny around his neck. The watch... her soul. He had her soul. She watched in a daze as he kissed her forehead gently, whispering soft words to her. His clawed hands opened the seal and bluish light spilled out, blinding her, pulling her into its soft, inviting warmth.

As her vision blurred, his words came back to her in a haze: _I'm here, and I always will be._

Chrono sealed the watch once her soul was back in place, standing, crimson eyes scanning the inferno. The Devil with the whip was at his feet, trying to breathe through a torn windpipe. He'd wanted to do that the minute his whip touched Rosette's skin! It wouldn't be long now until someone found out. He had to hurry or he would be worse than dead.

After all, stealing a soul from Hell was as bad as killing your kind.

* * *

Remington paced back and forth nervously in the shadows, hands clasped behind his back, palms sweating. He paused long enough to look at the clock. It was going on six in the morning now. His eyes were burning now with lack of sleep, his head ready to explode for the same reason. Asmodius sat unmoving in the chair, eyes blinking only occassionally. The sounds of the servants rising early to get started on their tasks didn't even phase the half-breed.

"Do you think something went wrong?" Remington asked. What if Chrono had been captured again?

"No," Asmodius answered in a flat voice.

"Then what's taking so long?"

"The Keeper of Souls, most likely. Astarte would know by now Chrono was summoned. She isn't stupid, she'll have guessed he was coming back for his contractor." Astarte was one of chief Devils. She was basically Satan's book keeper. She kept track of souls going in, who they had belonged to or why they were condemned and doled out the punishments accordingly. In the war with Heaven, she had stayed to one side to see who would win. God hadn't liked that one bit.

Remington wiped his palms on his pants, pausing once again in his pacing. "Would she-,"

"-No, she wouldn't kill them. Killing is beneath her. She'd call for back up and let the ones who _do_ fight take over. All Astarte cares about is retrieving the soul stolen from- Here he comes!"

Edging as close as he could to that unholy fire, Remington saw Chrono was indeed coming. And FAST! His wings beat furiously as he tried to outfly his pursuers. Five... no, six... Devils were chasing him, claws extended and straining to reach for his ankle. "Get ready!"

Asmodius was already on his feet, eyes flaming blue, skin glowing white. The shadow of wings was forming behind him, being let loose in anticipation of a fight. "Once they're through, step in front of the door to scare them off. It'll give Chrono a chance to seal the entrance."

Remington waited, heart pounding into his throat, chest rising and falling rapidly. So close... just a bit more...

Asmodius flung himself half way in, reaching. A moment later and he was tumbled backward, Chrono's smaller form instantly taking over. Both grunted painfully as they knocked the chairs and table over, Chrono out of breath. Without missing a beat, Remington stepped in front of the entrance, letting go of his human disguise completely.

White light flooded the darker flames, spreading further down the flaming corridor. Where it touched the writhing victims, there was relief and cries of thanks and mercy. It tore his heart to know it would only be short lived. He couldn't save them, not without his wings. The Devils screamed, covering their eyes and backing away from the light burning their skin from their bones.

"Ewan, move!"

He did as he was told stepping aside and just missing the blood flung at the door. The flames collapsed and returned instantly to the fire place, dancing merrily as if nothing had happened. Hand going to his chest, he looked over at the other two, swallowing back the power into the human shell. "Did you get it, Chrono?"

Chrono was sprawled on his back, trying to slow his breathing down. Slowly, he reached into the tattered white shirt and pulled a gold chain from around his neck. The watch sat in his hand as it flopped back to the side. "Got it," he said between breaths.

"No more tonight," Asmodius said, voice almost pleading. "Let's sleep and then we'll bring her back."

"Mm... sleep... good idea," Remington agreed, going over and giving them both hands up. "Are you sure that's sealed properly, Chrono?"

Chrono glanced at the fire thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure," he answered slowly. "To be certain though, douse it with holy water. That'll definately do the trick."

Nodding, Asmodius walked out of the room, calling over his shoulder, "I'll be sure to take care of it first thing. Good... morning. I suppose that is more appropriate."

Once he was gone, Remington gave Chrono a sleepy little smile. "Get some rest if you can, Chrono. Though I doubt very much you will."

Chrono flashed him a shy smile, fingers touching the watch almost reverently. "No, sir. Probably not."

Laughing under his breath, Remington clapped him on the shoulder and left also, pulling the neck of the grey sweater away from his skin. Soon enough, everything would be made right. Perhaps once this was over and she was living again, he could stop feeling so guilty.

* * *

Chrono lie awake in bed, fingers tracing over the glass face of the watch. Not a scratch to it that hadn't been put there by it's keeper, not a dent to mar it's surface. To think such an insignificant thing could contain something so very dear to him. His hand closed over it, the seal digging into the palm of his hand as he brought it to his chest, holding it tightly. _When she's back, everything'll be jake. When she's back..._

He drifted off to sleep again with his heart pounding in anticipation for when he would get his Rosette back.

The next evening, the four of them crowded around the coffin sitting inside another library, this one bigger and with less furniture in the way. Chrono bit his lower lip to keep from shouting at them to hurry.

Sighing, Tegan swallowed heavily, eyes clearly saying she didn't want to open the coffin. "This is why I hate having power over the dead," she muttered. "They're just so... dead!"

"Do you want me to get the lid?" Asmodius offered. The way he said it was the same way anyone else would offer to get a coat for their date.

Swallowing again, she nodded. The chicken in the cage next to her squawked and ruffled it's feathers angrily. Remington stood behind all three of them. He couldn't afford to be drawn into this. If the dark art tainted him, he wouldn't be able to-

The coffin lid lifted on rusty hinges and everyone but Chrono stepped back from the smell. No one could see the Devil's eyes, but the sudden tension to his shoulders and the way his hands fisted tight told everyone it disturbed him to see his contractor like this. The skin was peeled away, most of the jaw exposed. The habit she'd been buried in was moldy and rotting off, revealing skeletal arms and dried muscle. This wasn't anything like the girl he'd known.

"Chrono?" Tegan asked, hand over her mouth.

Blinking, he looked back at her and smiled sadly. "Let's just get this over with. I don't like this."

Nodding, the necromancer came forward, lifting the lid on the chicken's cage. It squawked in protest as her knife slid home and cut it's throat, spilling blood into the coffin. "Rosette Christopher, by the life sacrificed, I call to you. Rise up from your grave and come to my voice!"

Now everyone but Tegan jumped back as breath rattled through the body. Tegan waited, watching, eyes dark and empty. A hand came out of the coffin... but it was no longer skeletal. Healthy human flesh was filling in the spaces, taking on a rosy tone.

"Whoa..." Chrono's eyes widened as slowly what had been a corpse sat up, looking exactly like Rosette Christopher. Except for the eyes. The eyes were empty, lifeless without a soul to fill them.

"Okay, I've done my job," Tegan announced, stepping back from her masterpiece with a grin. "Damn... I did a good job with this one!"

"And you're sure there's nothing wrong?" Chrono asked skeptically.

The necromancer scowled at him. "Do I tell you how to be a Devil? Trust me, I'm sure."

Sighing, Chrono took the watch from his pocket, undoing the seal. A faint bluish light came from it, floating in the air in a tiny ball. Without any prompting, it moved until it rested over Rosette's chest, melting into the skin. The body arched, eyes going wide as a scream was torn from the throat, body spasming inside the coffin violently. The rotted wood splintered and snapped, threatening to break from the wild movements.

"Shit! Asi, hold her head still! Chrono, get her arms!" Tegan sat across the coffin, pinning Rosette's thrashing legs down.

"What's going on? Is this normal?" Chrono shouted over the continued screams.

"I've never restored a soul before," Tegan replied, eyes wild in fear.

Suddenly, the body stopped moving all together, limbs falling back limply. No one moved from their spot, all of them frozen and waiting. Remington picked himself up off the ground where he'd fallen at the initial blood curdling scream. He peered over as far as he dared, noticing how plae she looked. "Is she... dead?"

His question was answered when Rosette's eyes flew open and she gasped a breath of air, sitting up inside the coffin and gagging. Asmodius and Chrono helped roll her out onto the floor, still gasping with the rotted clothing on her. The other two stepped away, leaving Chrono to rub her back and say soothing words to her.

The gasps finally resided into normal breathing. Her blue eyes were still a touch too wide and wild to be healthy and she was shaking almost uncontrolably now. Chrono pulled her long hair back as she wretched, dry heaving against the floor. There was nothing in her stomach to get rid of and so she fell to more hacking and coughing, barely keeping herself up. "Rosette? Rosette, try and say something. How do you feel?"

Big blue eyes stared at him through golden blonde hair. "Just... jake," she choked out.


	3. How To Convince A Girl

CHAPTER 3: How To Convince A Girl

Remington watched the two from the door way, watched as the Devil set the girl down gently on the bed, sitting next to her and holding her hand. Rosette had passed out shortly after assuring them she was fine, which very nearly sent Chrono into a rage. It took Tegan reassuring him and having him listen to her pulse to prove she wasn't dead or harmed, just in shock. After all, being ripped from Hell and thrown back into your body eighty years in the future couldn't be easy on a person's mind.

His eyes flickered over to Asmodius as the half-breed came up next to him, leaning on the opposite side of the frame. "Unbelievable," he murmured, watching as Chrono pushed Rosette's hair back, being careful with his claws not the scrape the girl's skin.

"What is?"

"I've read everything there is on Chrono the Sinner, from the campaignes in Hell to the work he did for the Order... but there he is and he looks about as dangerous as a puppy."

Remington smiled at that. "A puppy with a very viscious bite when it comes to protecting what's his. And, even though her soul is no longer in that watch, he still looks at her as if she _were_ his."

"Devils are very possessive. Once we have our hands on something, it belongs to us until you pry it from our cold hands."

Sighing, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Something tells me it's a little more than a Devil's nature, Asmodius."

"Really? That's wonderful! Then there should be no problem at all with the plan."

Smiling again, Remington shook his head and stood up straight. "I never said that. Knowing Rosette, she'll go into this kicking and screaming." Giving the startled half-breed a big grin, he clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Now, why don't you show me this shooting range you were talking about! It's been a while so I'm going to be a bit rusty. But with all this starting up again, I better get back in shape, right?"

Blinking, Asmodius nodded slowly, guiding the Angel down the hall. "Right.. of course. This was, Mr. Remington."

"Please, you can call me Ewan." He followed the other down the hall, talking pleasantly about the different weapons he'd used in his time.

Chrono continued to sit with Rosette, still clutching her hand. It had worked. She was here and alive and... it worked! He wanted her to wake up so he could talk to her, make sure she was the same Rosette he'd known. What if she'd come back all wrong? What if being in Hell had changed her? What if...

To many 'what ifs' to really focus on logically. Right now, Rosette needed him. And, like always, he would be there. The half-breed had said he needed to form a new contract with her. He wouldn't do it, not for anything. He was glad she was safe and alive, and he wasn't going to take that from her again. In the years that he'd known her, she'd become very precious to him. She'd led him from the dark of that crypt and into a world full of light and hope. Rosette hadn't cared that he was a Devil and, worse still, one who was outlawed by even Hell. In her childish sincerity, she'd simply accepted him and made him feel...

_Human? Alive? What?_

Happy. She made him happy. That was something he hadn't felt in almost a hundred years. And he'd vowed then he'd do anything to keep that feeling alive. To keep _her_ alive.

Sighing, he stood up, giving her bangs one final little sweep before starting to untangle his hand from hers. He looked down when her hand tightened around his convulsively.

"Chrono... don't leave. Stay with me," she whispered. Her eyes squeezed shut tighter.

Lying down next to her, he smiled, draping an arm across her shoulders. "Always." She'd still been out when she spoke, but he didn't want to leave anyway. His place was here, with Rosette, as it always had been.

* * *

Remington stumbled down the stairs in a warm robe and pajamas, hair tossled and blinking sleepily. Noises had woken him up early, coming from the casual dining room down the hall and below his room. He glanced over as Tegan came up from the basement fascilities in a lab coat over her grey sweater and black pants. Her dark hair was pulled back today and silver rimmed glasses sat on her nose. "Good morning," she said brightly. He'd found out yesterday that not only was the petite woman a necromancer of some skill, but she was also the private lab director. Asmodius had scientists below who lived and worked on his grounds making modern weapons usable against Devils. Remington had been shocked to the point of being speechless. Not since his days with the Order had he seen anything like it.

"HEY! DROP THAT SAUSAGE RIGHT NOW!"

"But, Rosette... you already had six!"

"CHRONO!" There was a loud thud followed by much growling and and 'ow'ing.

Tegan blinked wide brown eyes. "Oh, my..."

Smiling and rubbing the back of his neck, Remington chuckled. "It sounds to me as if everything's perfectly normal."

"THAT'S normal? Good lord!" She followed him into the dining room where chairs had been knocked over behind the small round table and nearly all the was food gone.

"You shouldn't gorge yourself like that," Chrono insisted from somewhere on the floor.

"Chrono, if you don't gimme that sausage RIGHT NOW..." Rosette threatened.

"NO! No, Rosette, that's not fai...ahaha...stop...no...hahahaha!"

A hand finally poked up from the other side of the table, holding a fork with a sausage link on the end. "GOT IT! Ha ha, it's all mine!"

Rosette stood up, cramming the sausage into her mouth before giving the one she'd tormented it for a hand up. Chrono was grinning wide enough to flash a little fang, cheeks red from laughing. "You cheated," he declared, righting his chair and sitting down again.

"Oh, yeah? Seb 'oo?" she asked around a mouthful of meat. Rosette sat down in her own chair, taking a healthy swig of orange juice before she saw who was standing in the doorway, an amused expression on his face. Her face instantly paled to the point that Chrono stopped chewing, watching her worriedly in case she fainted. "Fa-Father Remington! Why, hello sir! Uh...ahaha..." The nervous laughter trailed off into an embarassed silence.

"Don't be embarassed, Rosette. And you don't need the 'father' either. Just going by Ewan nowadays." He hoped the girl would just do that naturally. He was getting sick of telling everyone just to use his first name now.

"Oh... I see. Well, that's just jake! It's good to see ya."

Still smiling, relieved she seemed fine considering everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, Remington took a seat at the table, Tegan snagging the chair next to his. A maid came up and poured coffee for the necromancer, looking over to see if he wanted any. "If you have tea, I'd rather have that."

"Of course, sir. Is darjeeling alright or would you prefer oolong?"

"Darjeeling, please." Once the maid was gone, he settled his napkin in his lap and glanced over the table at the remains of breakfast. "Your apetite is as voracious as ever, I see."

"Well, Chrono seb I bin dea' fo' eighty yea's. Jus' makin' ub fo' los' time," Rosette answered around her pancakes.

"More than making up," Chrono muttered, eliciting a sharp dig of elbow from the girl next to him. "Ow..."

"Shut up, Chrono!"

"Well, it's true! You've eaten four times what you normally do!"

"I said... SHUT. UP!" The Devil yelped as she head locked him, rubbing her knuckles hard against his head.

Tegan gave Remington a droll glare. "This... is normal? People back then must have been crazy!"

The maid returned as Rosette was pulling on Chrono's cheeks and Chrono was grabbing her wrists to get her to let go. "Your tea, sir, and the cook is already preparing some more food as we speak. May I refresh your orange juice?"

"Yes, please," Chrono answered, finishing his off quickly.

"Me, too. Please." Rosette added the 'please' as an after thought after Chrono nudged her.

"So, how are you feeling, Rosette?" Remington asked politely, sipping his tea hesitantly.

"Swell, thanks. I mean, I don't _feel_ like I've been dead or anything. It all kinda feels like a bad dream," she answered, finally setting her fork down and slouching in her chair to make room for her stomach.

"You don't feel odd at all? Nautious? Headache?" Tegan pressed, pulling a small pad of paper from her lab coat pocket as well as a pen to take notes.

"Nope! Just wondering why we're here."

"That's something Asmodius will answer later. For now, he said I'm to take the three of you out and go shopping."

That got raised eyebrows around the table. "Shopping?" Rosette practically squealed. It was obvious she'd borrowed a dress from Tegan to wear. It didn't quite fit the taller girl's fram and looked particularly tight around the middle.

"For what exactly?" Remington interupted, ignoring the excited clapping and the less-than-thrilled groaning from the other two.

"Well, for clothing mostly. He also wants these two to get used to this new world. A lot has changed since the 1920s. Asmodius wants us to have a little fun before the real work begins."

The 'real work' would involve convincing Rosette to go along with the plan. That was the part Remington was dreading the most. He could just imagine her reaction to the news. Smiling quickly and finishing his tea, he grabbed a plate of food from the maid and stood up. "Well then, if we're to go out, I suppose I better make myself presentable. Will an hour give you two enough time?"

Chrono gave Rosette a side long look as she sat up, digging into yet more food. "An hour'll be fine for me... don't know about Rosette though..."

"It'sh all 'ake," she answered, waving away their concerns airily.

Tegan sighed and stood up as well, shaking her head. "I'll just go finish up downstairs real quick." As she followed Remington out of the room where yet another arguement broke out, this time over pancakes, she muttered, "I have no clue where that girl finds room for all that food! her stomach's a scientific wonder in and of itself."

Chuckling at the comment, he went up the stares saying, "The Lord blesses us in many ways, some more oddly than others."

* * *

"WOW!"

Rosette's and Chrono's exclaimations of surprise said it all. Remington tucked his hands into the cashmere coat he'd borrowed from Asmodius, watching as the two went crazy over the many different cars, the towering office buildings... the fashions. Chrono about exploded with embarassment when a girl went strutting by in a skirt that barely concealed her underwear... which was a thong seeing as it showed out the top anyway.

"Rosette, did you see...?"

"Stop staring, Chrono! Someone'll think you're a pervert."

"But I can't help it! Did you SEE...?"

Rosette shoved him roughly, scowling. "I said stop STARING! Of COURSE I saw! Everyone saw!"

Chrono made a face and quickly stared at his shoes.

Their group was getting plenty of stares as it was. Chrono's long hair (not to mention the color that shifted from violet to almost black with the change in light) and Rosette practically throwing herself on sports car and whimpering about being 'stuck on' it was enough for that. He glanced over at Tegan, who was being very quiet. She was watching the two with a big smile on her face. She felt him staring and blushed, looking at the sidewalk quickly. "Sorry, but this is so cool to me. I mean, all these things we take for granted... they don't know what a lot of them are. It's amusing and neat and... I don't know what."

Laughing, he said, "I know what you mean. It's like watching children on Christmas. Everything that we see as dull and common place is almost miraculous to them."

"Yes... yes, that's it exactly. It's seeing our world as a miracle."

Remington smiled, tucking his hands in further. It was chill and damp outside, as is usual for English weather, but the sun was starting to peek through the dark clouds, casting it's faint glow onto the street. Not an entirely bad day altogether. "So, the final destination is...?"

"Here."

He looked up at the two-storied clothing store, a little surprised. "Do you know where we are?"

"Uh-huh."

"Are you certain we should spend this kind of money?"

Tegan rolled her eyes. "It's not _our_ money. It's Asmodius', and his only instructions were to show you three European hospitality, which is completely open for debate as to what that even means. So, inside we go and we're not leaving until you all have wardrobes."

Rosette and Chrono had stopped gushing over everything to come and join them, catching the tail end of the conversation. Grinning and clapping Tegan on the back, Rosette said, "THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! Come on, Chrono, let's get spiffy."

"Rosette... wait a second... HEY!" Chrono allowed himself to be dragged inside through the glass doors. The other two were right behind the energetic duo as they began exploring the racks, pulling out different items to make fun of or to buy. Remington soon broke away to do his own shopping alone, leaving Tegan to try and handle the others on her own. She looked less than thrilled... which amused him to no end!

"How do you even know where to start?" Chrono whispered as he followed Rosette through the store. She was just grabbing anything she liked and throwing it back to him to carry.

"Umm... well, this looks kinda- EEK! WHAT'S THAT NUMBER THERE?" she demanded, waving a tag under his nose.

Squinting to see it better, Chrono almost dropped the clothing in his arms, eyes bulging wide. "Is that the PRICE? But... but it's just SHIRT! How can it be so much for just a shirt?"

Rosette flopped to the ground, staring dismally at the pile of clothing. "I'm too scared to even look at the rest of it. I mean, we don't wanna be rude or anything!"

Flopping down next to her, almost buried unedr the mound of clothing, Chrono blew a bit of hair out of his eyes. "Well, maybe we should go through some of this. I mean, a couple things you pulled out were a little..."

Eyes narrowing, brows drawing down to give her a fierce look, she pressed, "A little... what, Chrono?"

"Oh... uh, hehe..." Blush flamed up his cheek and he tried to shrink into himself to escape 'the glare'.

"Yeeeees?"

"Well... like this!" He pulled out a shirt with a deep scoop neck and thin straps for sleeves. It was white with big pink roses stamped on the front and tiny little jewels. It also looked way too large for her.

"What about it?"

"It's... really big."

He knew it was a mistake the minute he said it. Rosette's glare turned from being angry to promising pain. Snatching the shirt from him, she jammed the tag under his nose. "It says twelve! That's what size I wear! How's that too big?"

Both jumped and let out startled yelps when Tegan spoke from behind them. "Actually, the sizes are a little different now. A twelve back then is really closer to a six or eight now."

"HUH?" Rosette stared down at her stomach in shock.

Smirking, Tegan helped Chrono to his feet, taking some of the clothing from him. "Oh, don't worry, you're fine physically! Just... different times, different styles."

"If she keeps eating, she might as well get that shirt," Chrono muttered. It went unheard by the other two, lucky for him.

Eying the clothing critically, Rosette held the shirt up to herself, biting her lower lip. "Mmm... I guess I get it. Alright, Chrono!"  
"Yeah?"

"Go put that back and get me stuff in my size!"

The Devil whined, mumbling as he started to move off.

"Or, we can give it to the nice sales clerk here who will put it away for us," Tegan said quickly, snagging a clerk. The bewildered woman took the stuff Chrono practically shoved on her and went away, adjusting her glasses. Smiling and dusting her hands off, Tegan put an arm around Rosette's shoulders to steer her back toward the front. "Let's start over, okay? And this time, let me help you out."

It was much later that evening when they all returned, the driver to their car (after fighting Rosette for the wheel) carrying more of their stuff in. Everything had been labeled at the stores so the servants knew which room to take it to.

Tegan checked her watch, sighing wearily. "Dinner is going to be ready in about a half an hour. Ewan, you wanted to test fire that modified MP2000 didn't you? I think we can arrange a quick demon before then."

"A demo? Oh, can I PLEASE come and watch?" Rosette was practically bouncing up and down with glee. Chrono took a step back from her, a little smile tugging at his lips.

"I'm sure you can watch, Rosette," Remington said quickly, intercepting Tegan as she was about to veto the idea. "But this is a brand new type of gun, not even really used in the States yet. Maybe once you've seen how it works and operates Tegan will be kind enough to arrange practice time for you."

That was almost as good as telling her she could use it. She ran after them happily, as if it were her birthday, disappearing around a corner.

Chrono let out a long breath, heading up the stairs to the second floor. He didn't mind really that she was being distracted. This would give him a chance to try and find their host, who was strangely absent all day. And maybe he could finally get some answers to the million and one questions he still had.

It wasn't until they were almost done with dinner that Asmodius finally put in an appearance. No one commented on the bruises down one side of his face. No one except...

"Did you get in a fight?"

Asmodius glanced up from his plate that a servant was filling, eyebrows raised in question to the blonde girl.

Nodding at the bruises, Rosette repeated, "Who'd you fight with?"

"Oh... just an informer who wasn't being... informative," he replied easily.

"A brownie from the smell of you," Chrono muttered, red eyes flashing quickly to Asmodius.

The half-breed froze, steak almost to his lips. "Yes, as a matter of fact. I thought I'd washed it all off."

"It was scared. You can't wash brownie stink off if they're scared." Something about the way the Devil said it made Rosette give him a questioning look. It was odd to hear the almost sneering tone to her partner's voice.

Asmodius put his fork down, eyes lowered and body very still. Remington sat back in his chair, elbows on the table and fingers laced together, watching the two.

Taking a sip of water, Chrono said, "They talk better if you give them something to clean. It keeps them calm."

Pale blue eyes met with crimson ones before Asmodius inclined his head slightly. "Good to know."

Tegan let out a soft sigh, shaking her head slightly. Remington relaxed as well, drinking his wine and smiling a little. He'd been afraid there would be another dominance display like before. Apparently the two had reached some form of order.

"I'm sure you are both wondering what's going on," Asmodius said into the silence following the prior conversation.

"Sort of. Not that I'm complaining or anything," Rosette said. No one saw her shiver except for Chrono, who reached under the table to put a comforting hand over hers. She glanced at him and gave him a weak smile which was answered by his grip tightening a little around hers.

"Well, first thing's first, Aion is back."

"Aion!" There was no mistaking the angry darkening to her blue eyes or the fine tremble to her shoulders. Rosette Christopher still carried a grudge for that name and the man attached to it.

There was a twinkle to his icy eyes that suggested maybe Asmodius was amused by her reaction. "Yes, Aion. His goal is the same as always; through all three worlds into chaos. The only difference is that this time, he isn't alone. He was summoned to Earth by the Seven Sinners."

"The Seven Sinners," Remington continued when the other man's announcement failed to get any reaction other than a confused quirk of brow. "Were once Angels on high. During the conflict with God, they were loyal to Satan, but turned on him once in Hell. Both God and Satan agreed that the Seven Sinners were to remain imprisoned on Earth rather than be destroyed. They were left here to force man kind into falling or rising above their baser needs."

"So... the seven deadly sins are really Devils?" Rosette asked softly.

"Not exactly Devils," Chrono whispered back. "Because they didn't remain in Hell, they're not Devils. But they're not Angels either. The Seven Sinners are something entirely different."

"And, as you were so good to note," Asmodius continued. "They are the seven deadly sins. Fierezza is Pride. Mammon is Greed. Aira is Anger. Volupte is Lust." Rosette glanced over at Chrono when his hand tightened and his red eyes darkened angrily. Clearly Lust was a sore spot with him. "Alimento is Gluttony. Leviathan is Envy. And Belphagor is Sloth. On their own, they're a handful. But together..."

"But, if they're locked up here by God and Satan, why don't they step in?"

"Both sides have a pact not to interfere directly with this world and it's toils," Remington answered for her. "Before Aion's return, the Seven Sinners kept a low profile. They fed off of human weakness as it came up, but again were not allowed by both Heaven and Hell to directly effect the humans. That is why they have Aion. Aion has no such boundaries. He's giving them a steady supply of human victims, making them stronger and stronger. If given enough, there's a very good chance that Aion's vision for a unified chaos will come true."

Rosette stared at the table, her third plate of food remaining untouched. All eyes were on her, waiting for her to say or do something. She looked down at her lap where Chrono was still holding her hand, claws careful of her skin. Following that hand up the long black sleeved shirt to his shoulder and from there, his face, she stared into a perfect mask. He was letting her make the decision. Fight or flight. No matter what she decided, he was going to be there for her.

Letting out a long breath that bordered on a groan, she said, "What do you need me to do?"

She couldn't help notice both Remington and Tegan move a little away from the table, almost like they were preparing to run. This wasn't going to be good...

Asmodius' thin lips spread into a smile wide enough to show his fangs clearly. "Very simply... I need you and Chrono to make another contract for your soul... and for the two of you to get married."

"**_WHAT!_**" She stood up so quickly from the table her chair slammed into the wall behind her and left a mark. Her hand bled a little from when she'd yanked it away from Chrono, catching his claws along her skin.

"Now, hear me out, Rose-,"

"Are you CRAZY? You've gotta be to think for even ONE SECOND-,"

"Rosette, please just-," Asmodius was pale with shock at the ire contained in the fifteen year old.

"Either that or you think I've been hitting the giggle water a little hard! What could POSSIBLY make you think that I would... that he and I would-,"

"Just let me finish-,"

"No way! Nope! Uh-uh! No how- oh!" The soft exclaimation came out as she blinked big blue eyes at what Remington was holding out to her on his open hand.

"You like it?" he offered with a smirk. She was almost too predictable at times. Rosette's jaw dropped a little at the gun dangling within reach. "It's the M380 Resolver, loaded with a new type of ammo Tegan was cooking up down in the basement."

"It's so... pretty..." She started to reach out and touch the rather plain piece with reverent fingers.

"Good grief," Chrono muttered, covering his eyes with his hand.

Remington pulled it away just as her fingers grazed over it. "If you like it, I'm sure Tegan wouldn't mind getting you a spare. For a wedding present perhaps?"

Face twisting into a look between anger and caving in, she ground out, "You're such a pill!"

Smiling widening a bit, he arched a brow. "So, is that a yes?"

"Hey, hold on a second! YOU'RE not the one she needs to say yes to," Chrono protested, lowering his hands, cheeks a brilliant scarlet almost the color of his eyes. "Doesn't anyone want to know - YEEIAH!" He yelped, almost tipping over in his chair when he suddenly had a lapful of blonde. Rosette was giving him her most dazzling smile, eyes batting coyly.

"Chrono... it's such a pretty gun! Please, oh PLEASE, can I have it? I really, really want it and Ewan won't let me have it unless we get married, so can I PLEASE marry you?"

"Uh... well, um..." He swallowed heavily, completely unsure what to do. And it wasn't helping things with her wiggling around like that! This was just like at the casino.

"You want to make me happy... don't you, Chrono?"

"Is she for real?" Tegan hissed over at Remington, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, yes. If there's one thing Rosette Christopher truly loves, it's a gun," he whispered back, chest rising and falling with silent laughter.

"O-Of course I want you _happy_, Rosette," the poor Devil stammered, turning impossibly redder. "B-but, are you even _listening_ to what they said?"

"What? Ewan said if we get married, I get the pretty new gun. Yeah, I heard him. What, you don't WANT to marry me?" Blue eyes turned from flirty to suspicious in a matter of seconds.

"I never said that," he protested quickly, looking over to the others for help. He should have known better than to think any of them would get him out of this!

"So... what's the problem then? Come on!"

Closing his eyes tightly, Chrono's shoulders slumped. "Alright. Can you get off me now?"

Squealing with joy, Rosette was so quick to comply she toppled his chair with him in it right over. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Can I hold it now?"

Remington passed it over to her, much to Tegan's horror. She sighted down the barrel, moving it slowly across the table, pausing on Asmodius, who paled even further with sweat beading his brow, before moving on. "This is jake! Just jake! Hey, Chrono, look at it. Chrono? Get up, would ya!"

"Ugh... it's swell..." came from the floor as the Devil used the table ledge to pull himself up.

Dabbing his brow and rising from the table just as the girl gave the gun back to Remington, Asmodius said weakly, "Yes, well, tomorrow night we'll finish all of this. Good night, everyone. And pleasant dreams... if that's at all possible." The last was muttered so low only Tegan really caught it.

Everyone else was quick to leave after their host's departure, going to their respective rooms for the remainder of the evening.

* * *

Chrono blinked awake as a sliver of light fell across his face from the door being opened, only to disappear as it was shut again. Bare feet padded over to the bed quickly and it took him a second longer to register someone pulling back the covers and slipping in next to him, keeping a respectful distance between their bodies. "Ros...ette?" he asked, confused by why she'd be sneaking in like this. Glancing at the alarm clock behind her on the nightstand, he saw it was almost two in the morning.

"Sorry," she whispered, grabbing a pillow and bunching it up under her head. "I couldn't sleep."

"That's too bad 'cuz I was out," he mumbled, closing his eyes again. He was so tired he didn't care if she hit him like she probably would.

Instead, her next words woke him up more than any punch could have.

"Hey, Chrono? We're getting married tomorrow."

"Mm...yeah."

"Why?"

Opening his eyes a crack, he answered, " 'Cuz you wanted to pretty gun." His eyes opened all the way when he saw the nervous look on her face. "Rosette?"

Biting her lower lip, she brought her gaze up to his, looking suddenly vulnerable. "Why's it so important?"

Pushing himself up on one elbow, he said, "Well... marriage is a contract of souls sort of, right? I think Asmodius wants to make sure that when we make our contract for your soul you don't die."

"Huh?"

"Every time I use your soul, your life gets shorter and shorter. That's how a contract with a Devil works. A contract with God is for life. By getting married, you get to use my immortality to stay alive. See?"

Frowning, she mumbled, "I think so. But I guess they're gonna go over this tomorrow, right?"

Smiling and lying back down, he said, "Right."

There was a silence and then... "Chrono?"

"Hm?"

"Can I stay here?"

He didn't even open his eyes, just lifted his arm up and waited for the taller girl to get settled in next to him. Just like when she'd been a child, and shorter. She'd always liked being snuggled in between himself and Joshua. Her fingers laced over his hand on her stomach, squeezing. "Thanks, Chrono."


	4. Contracts

CHAPTER 4: Contracts

Remington quickly tipped back the rest of his whiskey, setting the glass down on the polished wooden bar. He finished looping his tie and checked to see if his suit coat was lying straight. A force of habit still to this day from wearing a uniform for so many years. Heels clicking on the floor alerted him shortly before Tegan came into the room, carrying a small cross and two pieces of paper. Tonight she was wearing a soft grey dress that swept across the ground with beaded straps.

She smiled nervously as she came up to the bar and mixed herself a drink. "Sorry, nerves."

"And why should _you_ be nervous? You aren't the one getting married," he teased.

"I keep expecting to get struck down by the will of God or to have Satan send his minions for me. After all, this isn't exactly approved of by either side."

"The only side we've managed to draw any anger from is Hell, and that is because not only did we free a Devil condemned by even them, but we stole the soul of an apostle as well. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if we had a few demonic visitors tonight."

"Lovely." Tegan tipped back the last of her drink, grimacing at the after taste before setting her glass down and swirling back out of the room. "I guess I should get a few extra items then."

Remington smiled. He could only imagine what 'extra items' she was retrieving. His personal favorite had been the G11 assault rifle she'd let him demo that afternoon to pass the time until the wedding. The rounds had been modified wtih Holy Water interiors while the exteriors were all individually blessed by the Vatican, thus making them twice as deadly to Devils. He was going to see if he could talk her into just letting him have the piece after the wedding.

"Is everything set up?" Asmodius asked as he, too, went directly to the bar. It had been a pleasant surprise for both men when they'd discovered they had the same aquired taste for whiskey. Remington couldn't help doing a double take of the half-breed. He wasn't in his normal black affair. Instead, it was a pale grey with a deep crimson shirt. It did wonders to take the almost deathly pale of his skin and make it look more vibrant.

"Just about," he answered. "The crucifix has to be placed on the mantle piece. Tegan delivered the typed vows and is now getting a little added security against the smiting she seems to think is due."

Asmodius chuckled at that, blue eyes lighting up. The closer it got to the actual wedding time, the more lively he seemed to be getting. "She told me you found the love of your life in that laboratory of hers."

Remington laughed, pouring a little more whiskey before taking it and the crucifix over to the mantle place. "I did, but I doubt very much she'll let me have it. Now, just to double check everything; first, we marry them before God. Once those vows are sealed, Rosette makes a new contract with Chrono. Speaking of which, do you have it?"

Asmodius patted the bulge in his pocket. "I gave it to her about two hours ago."

Nodding, he checked the clock on the mantle. "Has anyone seen them yet? They're running late."

"Do you think they changed their minds?" The half-breed sounded as close to nervous as Remington had ever heard him.

Giving him a reassuring smile that wasn't necessarily felt, he answered, "Of course not! Rosette's always late. Don't worry about it."

Asmodius' response was to chug back his whiskey and pour another one.

* * *

Chrono scowled at the length of silk that was SUPPOSED to tie around his neck. Remington had shown him earlier that day... but it completely slipped his mind. He felt sick, like he was going to upchuck all over the floor any minute. He was getting married. To Rosette. TONIGHT! His hand went to his stomach as it gurgled and he quickly sat down on the floor, not really caring that his suit was getting dirty. It was really hot in the room, he decided, pulling on the buttoned collar to get a little air in.

As he'd guessed, the entire plan had been explained earlier to the both of them. To his surprise, Rosette had listened quietly. And she remained silent for a long time afterward. After many tense minuted where everyone (even him) fidgeted nervously, she agreed to it. Chrono knew all they had to do was mention Aion's name and she was in one hundred and ten percent. She wanted to see him destroyed for good, no matter the cost. And, just as he'd promised before, Chrono said he would help her with that goal.

Now though... he wasn't so sure this was a good idea. He didn't quite believe Remington when he said Heaven was oblivious to what they planned. How COULD they be? Two powerful Devils were summoned, one soul stolen and the Seven Sinners causing havoc, and not a word of it reached up there? Unlikely! Sighing, still sitting on the floor, he decided to tackle the tie again. He missed the days where clothing was whatever was comfortable and functional. Unless that silk tie was going to do something, you didn't wear it. Fierezza, the Sinner of Pride, was probably having a field day with the fashion culture!

He looked up when the door clicked open enough to let Rosette in before shutting behind her. "Rosette! You can't be in here!"

Rosette paused, confused. "Huh? Why not?"

"Because it's bad luck!"

Rolling her eyes, she stomped forward in her heels, setting the small bouquet of white calla lillies on the dresser top. "Dry up, would ya? Besides, isn't it worth a little bad luck jus to see how fabulous I look?" She struck a quick pose, grinning.

Chrono blushed and tried very hard not to stare at her. "Yeah... I guess..." Truth was, he thought she looked beautiful. She was wearing her hair down for a change, nothing clipping it back. The dress was plan white and made of some shiny material with thin straps. It fit well through the top and flared out a little below her hips. She was wearing the pearls Asmodius had given her as a wedding present, as well as the oh-so-familiar watch that had started this all. The watch wasn' the problem. It was the pearls. The idea of her wearing some half-breed's gift... he quickly checked the jealousy, reminding himself that times were different now. Almost a hundred years ago, if Asmodius had given that to her he would have been killed. If a Devil presented a human whose soul was already claimed with a gift, it was usually because they were trying to steal the human from the Devil they belonged to. It was considered beyond rude in the old days and was used only as a way of challenging someone to a death fight. He knew Asmodius would never challenge him to Rosette and that the half-breed truly only gave her a gift, but old habits died hard. He truly didn't care about it. It had made Rosette happy, and that was all he really wanted.

Rosette yanking his hair was enough to snap him out of his daydream. "Ow! Quit it, Rosette, I just got it straightened out!"

"I'm gonna straighten YOU out in about five seconds if you don't stop screwing around," she threatened before kneeling next to him and releasing his hair. Chrono rubbed his head, glaring at her. Rosette smiled back, eyes dancing. The glare gave way to a grumpy smile as her infectious good mood took over him. He couldn't help it. It was impossible to be mad at her, even just a little. Never in his life had he met such a geniunely good person. It was one of the many reasons he loved her so much. "Come here, lemme fix this for you!"

"Huh?" He was completely bewildered for a moment when she straightened his shirt front, fingers quickly looping the tie around. "Hey... where'd you learn to do that?"

"I'm just more observant than you," she declared loftily before breaking out into a snicker. "Actually, I did this for Joshua all the time. If it weren't for me he'd would've worn his socks on his ears!"

Chrono grinned, checking her work when she was done. "Thanks. And you look really swell."

"Well, of course I do! Tegan wouldn't let me see the price tag, but I bet it's worth about twenty bucks. Maybe even twenty-five!"

He didn't bother reminding her about the sweater she got for five times that amount. It was a big change going from 1928 to now. Best to let her take it in baby steps. Getting up, he brushed off the back of his pants before checking himself in the mirror again. Even if it wasn't a wedding by the social definition, he still wanted to look nice for her. Letting out a long, nervous breath, he glanced at her through their reflections in the floor length mirror. She was trying hard to hide it, but he could still see she was scared. This wasn't as easy as everyone was making ti sound. Yes, the process was simple enough but this was for life. Rosette would live as long as he lived. And he would live for as long as he could draw energy from his contractor. Once this deal was made, there was no going back.

Blue eyes and crimson eyes locked and held. It wasn't hard for him to create a blank face. He'd practiced it for millenia. Chrono managed a small reassuring smile and got a nervous swallow in response. "I guess we should go downstairs now."

"Yeah, I guess we should."

Turning to her, he touched her cheek gently. "If you don't want to, it's jake."

"Thanks for saying that," she whispered back, covering his hand with hers and squeezing. "But we kind of have to, right? I mean, Aion's back and he's going to find out sooner or later we are, too. Even if we ran away and hid, he'd track us down. And I don't want to die again, Chrono, not if it means going back... there. So, you see, it's not jake. We were partners before, and we're gonna be partners until one of us croaks again!"

He smiled at her attempt at humor. Nodding, he took his hand away from her cheek, wrapping his hand around hers and being careful with his claws not to scratch her. "Don't worry, Rosette, I won't let that happen again." It was a promise he didn't intend to break, not ever. She died once because of him, and he wasn't about to go through that again if there was anything he could do to stop it!

Three sets of eyes watched as the two came down the stairs, Rosette's arm through Chrono's. Both of them looked a touch green and neither one seemed willing to look at the other. Lightening lanced through the sky as large storm clouds blotted out everything, casting the large den into deeper shadows. The fire whipped around angrily as a wind trailed down through the chimney. Thunder growled ominously in the distance, getting steadily closer. The weather reports had predicted a large storm. It looked like they were right for a change.

Rosette stumbled a little as they came to stand in front of Remington. Chrono held her up, giving her a worried glance. Rosette laughed nervously, hand gripping the flowers tightly. Tegan and Asmodius stood to one side to serve as witnesses.

Remington waited a moment to let everyone get settled before beginning the ceremony. "We stand before God tonight to unite these two in a binding contract between two souls." The words were chosen carefully to ensure that it really WAS a holy contract. "Let God and all of Heaven be witness to the marriage between Chrono the Sinner and Rosette Christopher."

Everyone jumped at the astonishing loud clap of thunder overhead. It shook the house, the windows and even vibrated through the floor. Tegan reached into her pocket, pulling out a rosary that she then proceded to pray. Clearing his throat, Remington continued. "At this time I'd like to ask the couple to present their contract to each other so that it may be bound in God's sight and in His knowledge."

Bride and groom turned to face each other, both shifting nervously. Chrono nudged Rosette to get her to go first and she nudged him back. This continued for a bit before Rosette glared at him. Finally, Chrono sighed and pulled out the paper from his pocket with a miserable look on his face. "I, Chrono the Sinner, do acknowledge Rosette Christopher as my wife, bound by whatever means allows for my existance, to live off of these means for as long as I survive this world and the next. I... I state now that... that I give to her access to my life force so that we may truly be bound as one soul under God. In all other aspects of this union I do swear to honor and respect her, as well as pledge my life to her. This is the contract I lay before my bride and God, as is witnessed by His servant and those present." He folded the paper up and licked his lips nervously.

The windows rattled as the rain and wind finally broke, howling around outside. Lightening constantly lit the sky bright blue and white, thunder rolling like the sound of drums hammering away. Tegan stepped closer to Asmodius, still fingering her rosary, and muttered sarcastically, "You really went crazy with the romance, didn't you?"

"Pardon?"

"I've read divorce papers more heartwarming than this!"

Asmodius bristled and whispered back, "They aren't marrying for romantic reasons. This is to ensure their safety in what's to come, nothing more."

Tegan never had the chance for a rebuttal as Rosette read out loud from her vows. "I, Rosette Christopher, do accept the sinner Chrono's offer of a joined partnership. I gladly welcome the means of his existance into myself in the hopes that I remain alive at his side through this world and the next. I acknowledge this before God and Heaven, as well as the witnesses present here tonight. I state now that I fully understand we will be joined as one soul through his life, including the span of his years to come. I also state now that I know fully death will be no obstacle. Through the life of my husband I will not know death, not unless he leaves this world before me. In all other aspects of this union I do swear to honor and respect him and do swear also to protect him and all that he is. I swear all this before God and his servant."

This time the thunder seemed to strike inside the house. Rosette froze when she felt Chrono's fingers tighten against her own. "Chrono?"

"Something's coming," he growled, eyes flashing briefly. "Something big..."

Tegan was already arming herself, gun pointed at the door. Asmodius' eyes began to glow pale blue as he faced the window. Remington's gun was trained behind them at the fireplace. "And so now we seal this contract with a kiss. In the name of the Father..."

Something thudded heavily against the side of the house. Rosette and Chrono still stared at each other, wide eyed and scared at what they were doing. The glass of one window shattered under heavy wings. Asmodius' power flooded the room as his black wings unfurled, his human shape dropping away like a curtain. He flung himself on the creature surging through.

"And the Son..." The doors burst open and Tegan began firing, the gunshots a sharp staccato to the heavy thunder. Lightening crackled just then to reveal what appeared to be half human and half bat shapes. They had a human's body with the wings and head of a bat and glowing red eyes.

"And the Holy Ghost, amen! Rosette, Chrono, seal the contract with God now!" Remington whirled and began firing with Tegan at the creatures.

Without any further hesitation, they leaned forward slightly, her head tilting just enough for him to press his lips to hers briefly, pulling away quickly.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Chrono whispered, "Are you ready?"

The fight and the storm raged on around them, their three allies keeping the demons at bay so they could finish. Rosette nodded, lifting the watch from her chest. "Chrono the Sinner," she whispered back, repeating the words she'd said three years ago, when he'd first made a contract with the twelve-year-old girl she'd been. "In exchange for my soul to draw power from, I command that you help me in my pursuit to end the evils of this world."

One corner of his mouth lifted into a smile. "That was different." She'd said 'the evils of this world'. There were many evils in this world, and many more to come. By changing it to that she'd ensured there was no loophole for Satan to try and claim on them,

She was about to say something back when the watch opened and a bluish white light surrounded her. Her breath caught and held, eyes widening briefly, before the watch drew all that light back in and sealed itself. Rosette let out her breath, shaking hard and sweating. "It's done," she gasped out.

Now that everything was done, the only trick was to test it out. Giving each other mischievous smiles, Rosette flicked open the catch on the watch. It crackled and snapped golden sparks as a great red and black mass began to form, circling Chrono in a faster and faster whirlwind of hellish energy. Rosette was caught in that deadly tornado, but she still lived. She could smell the brimstone and the sulfur but it didn't do anything to her. The ceremony had worked!

The whirlwind mass faded away and a much taller form emerged, wings stretching back behind him. Chrono offered her a quick little smile before he moved faster than she she could follow and joined in the fight. Tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips, Rosette bent down and pulled the gun Remington had given to her off the ankle holster, clicking off the safety and squeezing the trigger repeatedly into the demonic creatures. It really WAS bad luck to see the bride in her gown, she thought to herself, dropping the clip and adding another one to continue the attack.


	5. Wedding Night

CHAPTER 5: Wedding Night

The last of the Demons exploded against the wall in a fountain of ash when Chrono's claws ripped right through its chest, tearing its heart out. Rosette stayed on one knee, gun trained on where the Demon had been. Her dress wasn't so much white now as it was grey, her cheek smudged black from gunshot residue. The watched gave one final crackle and closed up, the seal snapping shut as Chrono returned to his smaller self. He gave a final shudder, head bowed and arms around his stomach, before he stood up fully, a little smile still tugging at his lips.

Tegan slowly pointed her gun up and at teh ceiling, back pressed up to Remington's. He pointed his gun down at the ground, blue eyes still scanning the room in case they missed something. Asmodius' wings folded back and vanished as he force himself into his human for once again. "Well... that was certainly interesting," the half-breed commented. "And unexpected. I've not run into that type before."

"Scavengers," Chrono explained, dusting off his hands. "They're only foot soldiers, nothing impressive to them."

"Yeah, I'll say," Rosette added, getting to her feet. "I didn't have to use more than one bullet per scavenger!"

"And just where did you get that gun from, Rosette?" Remington added, smirking when the girl blushed and tried to hide it behind her back.

Chrono smacked his head when she laughed nervously. "ROSETTE! You stole the gun?"

"Hey, I didn't steal it, alright?" she snapped. "I was only testing it out!"

"Testing itmeans you stole it!"

"Is that anyway to talk to your WIFE?"

"HUH? Wait I second, I didn't- ROSETTE, LOOK OUT!"

Rosette spun in time to jam the barrel of her gun into the chest of the figure behind her. Two more guns surrounded it in an instant. This wasn't one of the scavengers. This was something else entirely, and it was putting off such a menacing vibe that Rosette backed up cautiosly until she was side by side with Chrono. Slowly, the black cloaked figure raised it's hands up and laced slender white fingers behind it's head. Rosette spared a glance for Chrono as he edged up a little ahead of her, red eyes practically spitting flames at this newcomer. "So, pookie, who's this?" she asked sweetly.

Remington was the one to answer, surprisingly. "Hello, Anamalech," he said coldly, all concentration bent on the shadowy shape.

A surprisingly sweet female laugh came from inside that cloak. "Ewan Remington... you shouldn't go pointing a gun at the messenger."

"Sorry, but it's a necessary precaution. Lower the hood."

Laughing again, Anamalech obeyed... and revealed brilliant golden curls surrounding a face that only an Angel could have. She smiled before returning her hands behind her head. "Are you going to shoot me? Other than piss me off, Holy water isn't going to do much against me."

"Naturally. That's why I switched clips," Remington replied, an almost malicious smile twisting his lips as the doubt crossed her face. "These rounds here were heated in hellfire. It's going to do a little than piss you off, my dear. Now, on whose behalf are you here?"

Anamalech's golden eyes glared at him from the corners. "Don't pretend to be stupid! After this... blasphemy... you thought that God AND Satan would just let it rest? As soon as that _thing_ started speaking to our Lord, it became obvious what was about to happen. Satan's orders were to bring the soul of the Apostle back for him. God's were to destroy them both completely. You abused the priviledge that He granted to this world, to make their own guiding rules and thereby be judged by them. Neither side can let this happen!"

"Who is she, Chrono?" Rosette asked, keeping one eye on the... Angel before her. She may look the part, but there was something decidedly unholy about Anamalech that she didn't like.

"Anamalech... is the Angel of Death," Chrono whispered tightly. "She's the one either side calls to kill someone. She's a neutral party to the struggle between Heaven and Hell. And if she's been called in..."

He didn't need to say it. If she was brought in, God and Satan were both really mad. Rosette sighed, twisting her lips thoughtfully. "You know... I refuse to believe God would do that," she commented.

Anamalech arched a questioning brow. "Do what? Order those who twist His word for their own evil intent to be executed?" She let out a bitter little laugh. "I have news for you, human. God is more vengeful than you think. He loves you, but if you poke Him in the ass with a needle, He'll break your hand to teach you a lesson. And, unfortunately for you, you didn't just poke Him, you jammed a broom handle right up His ass."

"Ew... are you sure she's an Angel? That's really gross!"

Remington laughed darkly. "Anamalech has spent far too long in Hell." The safety clicked on his gun ominously. "Perhaps we should arrange for permanent accomodations there."

"Ewan... this is only business," she replied.

"And so is this." The gun fired and Anamalech screamed, clutching her shoulder as steam poured off her flesh. She fell to her knees, hissing in pain. When her eyes opened, they were glowing golden orbs. A halo of light seemed to surround her shining curls as she began to get to her feet. She froze instantly when the barrel of Remington's gun dug into the back of her head.

"Now, here is what you will do," he explained coldly. "You will leave here. You will deliver a message to both God and Satan and tell them that the Seven Sinners are rising again. You will tell them that Aion the Damned is with them... and that since they are too incompetant to manage their own affairs in this world, that is what we will do. Can you remember all that, Anamalech?"

She nodded, closing her eyes tightly. "This doesn't change that I've taken the hit on their lives."

"I know. We'll cross that bridge at a later time. Get up, slowly." Once Anamalech was on her feet, Remington motioned with his head for Tegan to move closer. "Now, Anamalech, I'm going to count to three and when I'm done, you shouldn't be here. If you are, the next round is going to give you a bad hair day. One... two..."

There was no flash of light, no puff of smoke. One minute she was there and the next she was gone. Rosette blinked before slowly relaxing her arm and lowering the gun. "Wow... I guess everyone's pretty angry," she whispered. Chrono's hand covered hers on the gun and he offered her a sad but sympathetic smile.

Asmodius let out a long breath, managing to look paler than normal. "Scavengers and the Angel of Death all on your wedding night. This certainly has been an exciting evening!"

"So... what do we do now?" Tegan asked, pulling her long skirt up to put her gun back on the thigh holster. In the process she managed to give everyone a very clear shot of her black lace panties. Chrono turned a magnifiscent shade of red before quickly looking away. Not quick enough though, he realized when Rosette shoved him roughly, giving him The Glare. Maybe this whole marriage thing wasn't such a good idea...

Remington slipped his gun back into his coat and flashed a dazzling smile. "I'm all for opening a bottle of champagne, toasting the happy couple and then taking a shower before bed."

"Oh, what a lovely idea!" the necromancer exclaimed before opening the fridge under the bar. She surfaced with two bottles tucked in each hand, grinning. "Asi, would you mind popping one of them, please?"

Asmodius complied, glaring at her when he heard the nickname repeated behind his back with a snicker. "Only Tegan gets away with that," he commented.

Soon all five of them had slender crystal flutes filled with the bubbly drink. A fire was started and they found spots in front of it. Remington shared his chair with Tegan, who sat on the arm of it between him and Asmodius, who occupied the other chair. Rosette and Chrono claimed the floor and were having a contest to see who could make the silliest face. Rosette pulled one off that made the Devil chuckle, eyes crinkling merrily.

"Tomorrow, Rosette," Asmodius began. "I want you to go down to the lab with Tegan and Ewan and learn about the equipment we have."

"REALLY?" she squealed, turning round shiny eyes up at the half-breed. With her back turned, she missed the sinister glower Chrono shot him as well.

Asmodius didn't miss it, however, and shifted uncomfortably under that hard stare. "Yes, well, it's only logical," he explained to both of them, hoping the Devil caught the meaning as well. "Weaponry has changed a lot since 1928 and you need to catch up on it before we go out hunting."

"Chrono, you told Asmodius and Ewan you knew who we could ask about the Seven," Tegan added, leaning back against the chair a little further. "When can we meet this person?"

"Not yet," he answered, fidgeting a little. "It's a little complicated to explain, and I need a couple days."

"Would three days give you enough time?" Remington asked. Judging from how uneasy Chrono looked, this wasn't a social call he really wanted to pay.

"Yeah... that's jake." It wasn't as convincing as Remington would have hoped.

"Can I have some more bubbly, pleeeeease?" Rosette begged, grinning as she held up her empty glass. Tegan laughed as she refilled it and all the others, arching a brow when Chrono shook his head. He didn't really like drinking that much anyway.

The talk soon turned to other things than tracking down the Sinners and Aion. Tegan was trying to explained microwave popcorn to Rosette while pouring yet another glass of champagne for the already hiccuping blonde. Remington and Asmodius were getting into a heated debate over a chess game they'd played earlier. And Chrono simply sat back and watched it all with a little smile.

It was when the sky began to go from ink black to crisp grey and brilliant pink that finally everyone decided it was time for bed. Tegan shook her head, grinning as the two taller men put companionable arms around each other, speach a little slurred as they still argued over that one point. "But leaving th' queen open... s'no good," Asmodius pointed out, his usually somber voice carrying an edge of a whine to it.

"No, no... it's perfect b'cause you're usin' her for bait," Remington argued back.

Asmodius snickered and made some comment about it possibly being jail bait before their laughter faded down the hall. Tegan shook her head again, pulling pins from her hair. She shook the dark mass free, running fingers through it to loosen the tight waves "Chrono, can you handle Rosette?"

Chrono looked over to where the blonde had fallen over, giggling and groaning at the same time. He gave her a dubious little frown. "Um... I think maybe we might just camp out here for tonight, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine with me. Here." She grabbed two of the small pillows from the chairs and both throw blankets folded over the backs, passing them down. "I'll tell Marie you two are in here so she doesn't freak out. Goodnight!" She shut the door to the den softly behind her, leaving them all alone.

Sighing, Chrono lifted Rosette's head, making her giggle again and close her eyes. "I like champagne," she said.

"Yeah, I know. You had FOUR GLASSES!"

"Ah, don't be such a pill!" She opened her eyes as he stretched out next to her on his side. Both blankets were draped over them for added warmth against the chill creeping into the room. "Hey... we got married, Chrono."

He smiled sleepily, not bothering to open his eyes. If he did, he'd be roped into a conversation and he really didn't feel like talking right then. He was tired and all he wanted to do was sleep. His eyes didn't remain closed for long though when he felt her lips brush against his lightly before drawing back. What... she shouldn't have done that! Even if she WAS drunk and he knew she hadn't meant it, he couldn't help the little thrill moving up his spine. Swallowing heavily, he forced a blank mask to his face. It wouldn't be any good for her to see how much that meant to him. "Rosette..."

Rosette kissed him again, arm circling his neck to pull him closer. Not right... this wasn't right... she was tipsy and... THIS WASN'T RIGHT! He wanted nothing more than to respond to her, to kiss her back... but she wasn't thinking clearly and it wouldn't be fair. If she ever DID decide to kiss him, he wanted it to be because she knew what she was doing. Hands shaking, Chrono managed to put some distance between them.

"Chrono..." She touched his cheek and he jerked at the light caress, closing his eyes and trying very hard to force those emotions back where they came from. "Hey, Chrono..."

"Rosette... I think it's time we went to bed," he managed to choke out.

"Okay!" The happy reply and immediate compliance made him sigh with relief...and also told how truly tipsy she was. Thank God! Rosette rolled over so her back was to him, snuggling in closer. Chrono slowly wrapped an arm around her waist, eyes moving over the delicate curve of her neck where her hair fell away from it and down her shoulder to where she held his hand. When he was certain she was out, he gave in and placed a gentle press of lips to her neck before settling back himself. This had been a really bad idea...

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry it's so short, I'm really tired and not feeling like a super hero right now. Some asshole stole my tights, my spandex underwear is too tight and my dog fell asleep on my cape... the only thing they left me were the unitard and the boots. I'll let you figure out which one of the two I'm NOT wearing... hehe... and enough of the random, pointless and otherwise trivial AN explaining in a lengthy amoutn of dialog why this chapter is so short.


	6. Training Session

CHAPTER 6: Traing Session

Tegan unlocked the door leading to the underground laboratory and training fascilities slowly, dark eyes full of worry. Remington stood next to her, a light coating of sweat to his brow as he gave a nervous little smile. Chrono was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, and shaking his head with a what-can-you-do expression on his face. And Rosette... was bouncing up and down excitedly, a big grin plastered right underneath large, shining eyes. She looked like a kid whose birthday happened to fall on every gift-giving holiday in existance.

"Now, remember," the necromancer warned for what was the fifth time. "Don't touch, look or BREATHE on anything unless I say you can! This is a laboratory first and foremost, understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's jake! I've got it," Rosette answered with an airy wave of her hand.

Tegan gave her one last warning glare before opening the door... and practically getting plowed down by Rosette racing down the stairs, laughing hysterically.

"ROSEEEEEETTE! WAIT UP!" Chrono took off after her, moving with inhuman speed down the dark steps. Tegan covered her eyes and Remington winced when there was a thud, yelps of pain and then much arguing.

"YOU STEPPED ON MY FOOT!" Rosette screamed.

"I DID NOT! YOU TRIPPED ME!"

"DRY UP, CHRONO!"

"OOOOOW!"

Tegan flicked the light switch on, mumbling as she went down the steps. Rosette was sitting on Chrono's back and the Devil was trying to pry her fingers from his long hair. "If you don't hurry, I'm going to let you test run the new ammunition we came up with."

"YAAAAH!" Rosette was quick to get off Chrono, who was a little slow to get him, glaring at the girl's back while he rubbed his head.

"If she belonged to any other Devil...," he muttered. Remington was the only one to notice the glare turn to affection as they both watched the excited blonde practically skip the rest of the way to the second door.

This one was much thicker and bigger than the first. It was made entirely of steel at least a foot thick with an intriquate locking mechanism. Everyone crowded around as Tegan unwound the rosary from her wrist and pressed the tiny cross into a small slot in the lock. Metal ground and gears shifted as the locks began to disconnect. Slowly, the door began to creek open, swinging outward and forcing them to step back.

"Oh... wow!"

Rosette's exclaimation was enough to make Tegan beam proudly, fixing her glasses. "It's not as big as I'd like, but it'll do. Follow me, I'll give you the tour."

Remington hung back a bit as the other two crowded after the necromancer, eyes darting over anything and everything eagerly. Four long lab tables were split two to each side and came complete with built in hot plates, microscopes, bullet molds, table grips and rows of tool drawers underneath. Surrounding the entire room were more cabinets full of unused equipment ranging from beakers to test tubes to silver disks covered over with holy carvings. On the counter tops that circled the entire room were more beakers full of various colored liquids, ancient looking artifacts, pieces to weapons and other oddly shaped items with no name. There were three doors, not including the one they'd just entered from, one on each of the other three walls to the room.

The other scientists, six total, glanced up from whatever they were working on only to acknowledge their guests before going back to work. "This," Tegan said, stepping around a table and taking the object from the hands of the man working on it, "Is something we've spent the last five years working on."

"What is it?" Rosette asked, leaning forward to peer at it better. It was shaped like a gun with an over sized barrel big enough for a grown man to put his fist down it with room to spare. Large egg shaped rounds sat on the table next to it, one of them opened and empty.

"It's a way of catching Devils alive," Tegan continued, reaching underneath the table for something else. Metal clinking against metal drew everyone's, inculding Remington's, attention to what she now had. In her hand was an enormous net made entirely of tiny crosses linked together. The crosses varied in color from gold to silver to bronze and even a few mother of pearl. "It's made entirely out of crusifixes from blessed rosaries. The idea is to overpower a Devil with the amount of holy energy and pin them down for transport. It takes forever and a day to make one of these things, but once it's made it's reusable. We're currently expanding our efforts to try and make one to capture Angels, now that we know Heaven's not exactly an alli right now."

"That's easy," Chrono said quietly. Tegan and the other scientist looked at him with wide eyes. "Fix the crosses upside down. Peter's Cross is what it's called in Hell."

"That makes perfect sense," the man muttered, fingers tapping against his chin thoughtfully. "Peter was nailed upside down on the cross in mockery of Christ. Something like that _would_ be fitting for Hell."

"And you're sure of this?" Tegan demanded, eyes narrowed.

Chrono nodded once, crimson eyes set firmly.

"Okay, Aidan, stay all night if you have to, but I want one by tomorrow evening, got it?"

"Damn it all...," Aidan the scientist muttered, thunking his weapon down on the table.

"Next," Tegan said, ignoring the muttered cussing behind her, "We have a new type of ammunition for you to test out, Rosette."

"REALLY?" It seemed impossible for the girl to be any more excited than when she'd initially been brought down.

"Oh, boy," Chrono muttered. Thankfully, Rosette didn't hear him.

"What's it do? Is it really potent? Oh, pleeeease can I try it now?"

Laughing as Remington signaled 'no' from behind the blonde, Tegan handed the bullet over to her for inspection. "Looks like a normal round, right? Check this out!" She slid a locked steel box over, entering a number combination on it before lifting the lid. Even Chrono stared in awe at what rested on the bed of silk. "What you're staring at is the Crown of Thorns, placed on Jesus' head by the Romans."

"How... did you get that?" Remington whispered.

"It was actually given to Azmaria Hendrick as a gift from the Vatican for her efforts in negotiating peace with the Repenters. The Pope, ignoring the outrage at having Devils accepted in church, understood what it meant to grant forgiveness to those who asked for it. Azmaria and Peccatus picketed outside the gates for a month before the Pope granted them an audience."

"And now you're using it in this fashion? This is a priceless relic!"

"Oh, no, you misunderstand me completely," she explained quickly, noticing his horror. "The Blood of Christ is all over this. All you do is take a simple piece of cotton, rub it along the thorns, stuff it inside a bullet and you've got something that's incredibly potent. We've tested it a little, with very good results. This is the final product."

"This is swell," Rosette breathed, running eager fingers over the metal casing. "So... what am I gonna test it on?"

Smiling evilly, Tegan motioned Rosette ahead of her. "The door straight ahead is a training fascility. When we receive reports claiming Devils or Demons are causing trouble, we try and catch a few alive for studying. So far, we've captured and documented all but a few classes of Devils, and nearly every type of Demon."

"And what did you catch today?" Remington asked lightly.

Grinning, Tegan leaned against the door. "Something very rare indeed. We've got behind this door an incubus. The incubi and succubi are notoriously hard to catch, namely because they escape by throwing everyone into fits of mad lust." Remington was the only one to notice how incredibly red the necromancer's cheeks got. Glancing around the lab, he noticed others wer blushing a little, one of them snickering.

"Wait a second... that thing behind the door makes you wanna..." Rosette's eyes got big and her cheeks turned almost as red as Tegan's. "How come I've never bumped into one before?"

"They're hard to spot," Chrono said, tucking his hands in his jean pockets. "They look human and put off very little aura unless they're ready to attack."

"And how DO they attack?" the girl pressed. Both of them were staring at the door like something evil was trying to seep out from under it.

"Um... well they... theysuckyoursouloutthroughsex."

"Huh? I didn't hear any of that!"

Shoulders slumping, Chrono let out a breath that blew a piece of hair out of his eyes. "They suck your soul out through sex."

"WHAT?" Rosette whirled on the door again and this time there was no mistaking the blush that went from her cheeks up her forehead and down her neck.

"I'm just tellin' you the truth," Chrono shouted quickly, throwing his hands into the air in a defenseless gesture. "Please don't get mad at me!"

Snarling, Rosette pulled her gun out from the shoulder holster she wore over her t-shirt and popped out the clip. "Got anymore of those rounds?"

Nodding, Tegan quickly ran back to the lap station and returned with four more. "That's all I can give you right now. Will it be enough?"

"It'll do. Alright, stand back everybody! Time to kill something perverted!"

Exchanging a worried glance with Remington, Tegan hit the red button by the door. A light began to flash over head and suddenly safeties were clicking off around the room. The scientists had all stopped what they were doing and were now aiming guns at the door, just in case the Demon inside tried to escape.

Taking a deep breath, Rosette cracked her neck before tossing a cocky smile over her shoulder at Chrono, who didn't smile back. His fists were clenching and unclenching as he fought the urge to run in with her. The idea of someone making her fall into bouts of lust didn't sit well with him at all.

"I'll be back later, honey! Would you mind getting dinner ready?" Rosette practically sang back as she entered the darkened room. The door slid shut and Tegan was rapidly flicking switches on to monitors that lined one side of the door way.

"Video surveilance cameras," she said as the black and white images came into full view. Chrono all but shoved her aside, glaring at the four separate screens that caught image after image before flipping to another one.

"There's Rosette," he exclaimed, the relief evident in how happy he sounded. Rosette was entering the maze of concrete slowly, head constantly moving as she kept everything in sight. His breath hissed out when the top screen showed the picture of a man sitting down. The man picked his head up, jerking upward like he was on strings. Then, just as he was walking off, it changed to an empty section of the screen. "Turn it back! Turn it back now! He's coming for her!" Chrono growled angrily, pacing back and forth in front of the monitors like an angry lion. Remington and Tegan backed off and the scientists were now splitting their forces between the door and the Devil in the room with them.

"Chrono, this is Rosette we're talking about," Remington said in what he hoped was a soothing tone. "Rosette can take care of herself, she doesn't need you at every drop of the hat."

It seemd Chrono was ignoring him. The third screen showed an image of the man, and that at least stopped the pacing. It did nothing to calm the rage that was starting to sizzle the air around him though. Chrono watched hopelessly as Rosette steadily moved closer and closer to the incubus. If anything happened to her... he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing the jealousy back in place. Remington was right. Rosette was strong, stronger than Mary had been. Mary had known and accepted the fact she was doomed to die. Rosette fought back. She always did. He needed to trust her to handle this on her own. It was just so difficult to fight against his nature. A millenia of ingrained habits warred with the knowledge that he cared for Rosette and didn't want to hurt her feelings by fighting for her. Letting out another deep, breath, Chrono returned his attention to the monitors...

Only they all went blank at once.

"What happened to the feed?" Tegan shouted, rushing to the door on the left with Aidan close behind her.

"We don't know, it just cut out," Aidan shouted back, yanking the door open.

That did it. Chrono threw himself at the door, screaming as his skin seemed to catch on fire and he jumped back, body smoking. Cross shaped burns were already beginning to heal from the brief contact with the doors.

"Chrono, are you alright?" Remington exclaimed, crouching next to him.

He was just pushing himself to his feet again, prepared to light himself on fire if needed just to break through those doors when shots sounded. One, two, three, four, five, six... wait... Tegan had only given her five of the special bullets! That meant any bullets after the five were regular ones used for target practice. Chrono froze, waiting for more to sound. Her gun held twelve in the clip, one in the chamber. The bullets had stopped at six. The fact that there was no more noise either meant she'd killed him... or she was in trouble.

A thud sounded against the door and repeated itself steadily. No... NO! Chrono could only think of one thing that would do that! Growling low in his throat, he rushed for the door again, only to stop dead when it opened and Rosette came out, scowling and dragging the body behind her.

"Didn't you hear me knocking?" she demanded, throwing the gun onto the lab top nearest her. "I was knocking and and knocking to get some help hauling this guy's dead butt out and nobody did anything! Sometimes you're worse than useless, Chrono!"

Chrono was too shocked to do more than gape at the girl, who beamed proudly before pointing a finger in Tegan's direction. "Those bullets you gave me are good, but they're cut funny so they spiral out of the barrel and curve to the left. I lost three of 'em before I figured it out. But once they hit, it was beautiful! See?" She pulled the tight black shirt of the incubus up to sho the two gaping holes in the chest and stomach.

"Whoa! Aidan, Jeremy, get this into the autopsy room stat," Tegan ordered, crouching low to study the wounds. "It looks like it's still eating away at the flesh. Brilliantly done, Rosette!"

Rosette was all but giggling as the scientists carted the body away, Remington following close behind to watch the autopsy. She stopped when she noticed Chrono's down-turned eyes and the way he kept scuffing up the toe to one of his boots. "Hey... why are you acting all screwy?"

"No reason...," he mumbled.

"Don't gimme that line! Something's bothering you, so spill it."

Chrono shook his head stubbornly. "Uh-uh."

Eyes narrowing and glittering with held in mirth, Rosette poked him in the side, making him jump away with a smile fighting to break loose.

"Stop that," he said.

"Stop what?" Rosette asked innocently. "This?" She poked him again and he squirmed away, grabbing her wrist to keep her hand back.

"Yes!"

"Yes? Yes, do it? Okay!" Chrono twisted away again, laughing as she found his other side, poking his ribs until he was falling to the laboratory floor, breathless and trying to get away from her quick hands.

"Stop... ahaha... Rosette, c'mon..."

"Are you gonna tell me, or what?" she insisted. He flopped over onto his side, curling up into a tiny ball to protect his stomach from her tickling. Except...

"NO! AHAHAHA... NOT THERE!" Chrono howled when she found the spot at the base of his neck. It didn't matter how far up he scrunched his shoulders, they wouldn't cover the spot and keep her out. He was kicking at the ground and trying hard to stop laughing long enough to draw a breath and run for it.

"There's another way you can get free," she called over his continued hysteria. He knew it was a mistake letting her find all his tickle spots! "You could always just make the-,"

"NO! NOT THAT! ANYTHING BUT... AHAHAHA... PLEASE, ROSETTE!"

"C'mon, it's been ages since I last saw it! Just do it and I'll stop!"

Tears squeezing through his eyelids, Chrono nodded weakly, hiccuping a little as she back off. "You're awful," he said between snickers and hiccups.

"Yep, I know! So... whip it out!"

Letting out a little sigh, Chrono shook his head and did what she asked. He flattened his pointed ears outward with his hands, puffed his cheeks out and made his eyes as wide as possible. Rosette fell over laughing at what she'd called the Piggy Face when she was younger. "That was too funny," she choked out, covering her eyes with one hand.

"Are you happy now?" he replied in a grumpy voice, even though he was still trying not to smile.

"Yeah... you looked like a little baby pig!"

Shaking his head again, Chrono got up quickly, fixing his t-shirt. "You're REALLY awful!" He began to walk away, still smiling.

Rosette ran up behind him, purposely bumping into him. "Hey, you weren't worried about me... were you?"

Chrono rolled his eyes. "No, I wasn't," he lied easily.

She squinted at him suspiciously for a second before taking his hand and pulling him quickly up the stairs. "Come on! I saw a tire swing outside in one of the gardens."

As they ran down the hall together, sliding around corners, Chrono ventured to ask the question that had been bothering him since she came out with the dead Demon. "Rosette, what happened in there?"

Rosette laughed loudly (TOO loudly in his opinion) and said breezily, "Oh, nothing! He came at me and I shot him. Simple as that." He was so relieved at her answer that he missed the slightly puzzled look she gave to him. It disappeared instantly when she ran smack into a wall, falling backward on the ground. Chrono winced and leaned over her, looking worried.

"Rosette?"

"Uuugh... owie."

* * *

_FLASH BACK TO THE TRAINING ROOM..._

Rosette heard the door echo closed behind her, the only light coming from the faint white lines running the edges of the walls. She was used to this sort of maze set up for training so she wasn't thrown off in the least when she came to a three-way intersection. She pressed up against the wall, waiting a few seconds before dropping to one knee in the middle of all three, breath coming a little faster but still even and steady. She took the path to the right, not really sure where she was going, but trusting her instincts to take her there. All the time, she kept eying everything, from the tops of the concrete walls to over her shoulder to the walls themselves. Sometimes a Devil would be clever enough to camoflage itself with its surroundings. And, seeing as she didn't know much about incubi, she didn't know what their attack strategy would be.

"Hello. Are you looking for me?"

She spun around at the voice, fighting to keep the tremble from her hands. That voice... it poured over her like chocolate sauce on ice cream, deliciously thick and temptingly rich. A man stood before her, wearing brown pants and a torn white shirt. And he was beautiful, probably the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. Thick, dark hair, exotic-shaped eyes that were a wonderful pale green, perfectly proportioned body. He was...

Amazing.

He smiled, laughing softly, and again the sound hit her like it was actually touchable. Velvet this time, so smooth and soft against the skin, cool to the touch and yet it kept you warm. Wow... "H-Hey, that's not gonna work on me!"

"What's that?" he asked, stepping closer. Rosette used her other hand to train the gun steadily on the middle of his chest. He spread his arms wide. "Are you going to shoot me, Rosette Christopher?"

"Yes!"

"Are you REALLY going to shoot me, Rosette Christopher?"

God, the way he said her name... Rosette's lips parted and before she knew it she was lowering the gun. Heat pooled in her stomach, not at all unfamiliar to her. She'd felt like this before, with...

"Look at me, Rosette Christopher," he purred softly. It was like his voice was inside her, touching her in places that felt good. She gasped a little and did what he asked, staring at him as he knelt before her. She could smell blood on him, sweet and metalic, but there was something else there, too, something more foreign and more heady. "Tell me what you see."

"I-I see... I see... you're so beautiful."

Smiling again, he traced long delicate fingers down her cheek, causing her entire body to jump and ache in ways she only slightly understood. "And so are you, Rosette Christopher. So very beautiful. Do you like when I touch you, Rosette Christopher?"

She didn't have the voice to speak, but she nodded anyway, swallowing. This wasn't right. He was evil and a Demon and she was supposed to kill him. But, with him, like thise...

Rosette moaned when his lips brushed against her cheek. "Your skin tastes so very good, Rosette Christopher. I wonder... if your lips are just as good?" Her back arched, arm circling his neck even though she knew this was going to be bad for her, when he kissed her, tongue parting through her lips to caress hers. Wow... oh, WOW! She let him push her onto her back, lost in how good it felt, how amazing. She'd only ever kissed one man before. And it wasn't like this, but it made her feel the same. When she'd kissed...

She moaned again when he did something with his hips, hitting right where she wanted him to. "You shouldn't think about him, not when I'm here. Don't you find me beautiful? Don't you want ME over him?"

"Yes... and no," she whispered, leaning up to try and kiss him again.

He drew back, body stiffening. "What?" he asked, and this time his voice struck her like an icy slap of wind to the face.

"I mean, yeah, you're gorgeous but... well, I don't really know."

Green eyes scrutinized her before he did something unexpected. He leaned down lightening quick, fangs flashing, and tried to bite her throat. He fell back screaming, clutching his head in pain. "The SINNER? You belong to... HIM!" Snarling angrily, he rolled to his feet, the human shell fading away to show shallow cheeks, sunken eyes and stringy hair. The beauty was just a curtain for the corpse underneath.

Rosette aimed again, waiting. "Chrono. That's right, I remember his name now. And you're disgusting!"

"The Sinner is here, and he's marked you as his. But it's more than that. You were never fully under my spell to begin with."

She had no idea what he was talking about. Right up until a few minutes ago, she wasn't very sure she would have said no to anything he proposed. She clicked the safety off and waited for him to move. She still felt reluctant to kill him, even though she now knew the truth of his good looks.

The incubus' teeth gnashed angrily. "Foolish human," he ground out. "Foolish, foolish girl! A Devil is only interested in the soul, not the heart!"

"Just what the heck are you talking about?" she demanded.

"Why give your heart where it won't be appreciated? Give it to me, forego the Sinner and belong to me. I would love you more than he does. You would be well taken care of, never lacking for-,"

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

All three bullets missed, curving oddly off to thud into the left-hand wall. Stupid things must have been cut funny! Rosette adjusted her aim just as the incubus dove at her, roaring in rage. The first one caught him in the chest and immediately it exploded, bursting into ashes and little flames. The second did the same thing to his stomach. And the third spilled holy water across that ravaged face. He screamed again before hitting the ground, completely dead.

Rosette flopped into her back again, breathing a little hard. The after effects of the spell were still wearing on her a little, making it increidbly hot in there. His words still buzzed around in her head like a fly, circling around and around again. A Devil was only interested in the soul... A Devil had no interest in the heart... love her more than Chrono does... Chrono. Did he really love her, or was that clown just giving her the run-around? She knew deep down Chrono was a Devil. He tried to keep her from seeing it, but it was always there. And she knew enough about Devils to know their nature. Chrono tried very hard to not be possessive or jealous, but every once in a while it came free. It was only natural for his kind, and she understood that. So it would only be reasonable to assume that maybe he didn't feel anything more for her than a Devil with his contractor. The thought that she was just a soul to use made her heart ache. And she hated that. She cared for Chrono as more than a Devil, and even more than a friend.

Because, the first time she'd felt like she did just now was when she'd stared into crimson eyes lighting up with laughter for the very first time in years.

Sighing, she got to her feet, tucking her gun away and grabbing the incubus by the back of the shirt to haul away. Rosette bit her lower lip before wiping at her eyes angrily. Why did the thought that maybe Chrono didn't love her hurt so bad? Annoyed with herself, she promised to smack him extra hard when she got out of there! "That'll be for making me love you, you little jerk," she muttered.


	7. The Message

CHAPTER 7: The Message

_"Rosette."_

_Rosette looked around the empty black room, heart pounding a million miles and hour. That voice! As it did before, it sent a cold shiver up her spine, one that was both filled with dread and temptation. She knew that voice very well, had dreamed of tracking it down and making it swallow lead. But now, all it did was make her heart speed up and body tremble as she pushed forward in that darkness. Her fet were moving through something thick and clinging, something that seemed to move with and against her. Without a light, she had no idea what it was._

_"Rosette, come to me. It's been so long since we last saw each other. Let's get reaquainted, shall we?"_

_"AION! WHERE ARE YOU?" Where was her gun? Why didn't she have a gun? And where was Chrono for that matter? She continued to fumble through the darkness, tripping as whatever she was walking on tried to pull her down. She caught herself before she could fall, but it was a close thing. If she fell, she knew the floor was going to swallow her up._

_His laughter breathed through the air, touching her and making her skin prickle at it. She shivered and once again felt for a gun she didn't have. Lights suddenly came on, blinding her at their sudden glare. As her eyes adjusted, she realized where she was. She was back in Hell. Breath coming in short, uneven pants, she looked down and saw hands clawing at her, faces contorted in screams of pain that remained unheard. And it seemed she wasn't walking on solid ground but over a pit filled to over brimming with people screaming silently while trying to claw their way out or drag her down. And straight ahead was a wooden cross..._

_"NOOO!" Rosette closed her eyes. Aion. He was standing there with a whip, smiling for all the world like he was about to do something exciting._

_"You should have just stayed here, Rosette. No matter how many times you return, no matter how many times you die, you will always return where you belong. And, no one, not even Chrono, will be able to save you in the end. But I can. My new masters have a power equal to both Heaven and Hell. Join me, give ME your soul instead of the Sinner, and I can promise you that you will be safe. Not even if God Himself came down to collect you would you leave."_

_She covered her ears, shaking so badly she fell to her knees without thinking about it. Hands gripped and groped at her and she shrugged them off, trying to fight free as she felt herself slowly being pulled into that writhing pit. The further in she went, the more she could hear of their screams. Aion crouched in front of her, smiling peacfeully. It made the anger over power her fear and caused her to fight harder. She could do this, with or without Chrono! She was strong, she knew she was!_

_"Here, take my hand. Let me prove to you my intentions are noble. Take my hand and I'll pull you to freedom, at no expense to yourself."_

_"Go back to Hell and stay there," she screamed._

_Aion stood up laughing as the lights suddenly went out and she was struggling in the darkness to get free of those hands. But no matter how hard she tried, for each hand she removed, three more took it's place. She needed help, she needed... "CHRONO!"_

"Rosette, wake up!"

Rosette sat bolt upright, gasping air into her lungs like she'd been drowning. Sweat beaded along her skin and she was shaking so badly she couldn't bring her hand up to push her damp hair away from her face. A dream... it was only a dream.

"What happened, Rosette? I've never seen you like this before." Chrono was kneeling next to her on the bed, still in his pajamas and with a look that said he was very worried about her. He covered her hands in one of his when she tried to push her hair back again and couldn't seem to make it work. "I'll do it, you just calm down, alright?"

She nodded, swallowing heavily, and let his gentle fingers push her hair back over her shoulder, tucking the pieces behind her ear. His claws brushed against her skin, hard and sharp, but he was being very careful not to hurt her. And when every last piece of hair was out of her face, he still continued to pet her hair, fingers working the tangles free. It was a soothing act, one that did wonders for her nerves. Rosette closed her eyes as a trickle of that warm feeling came back. It wasn't as strong as when she was with the incubus, but it was still there. And this time, it had to do with...

"Chrono."

Chrono didn't answer, but his fingers did pause slightly in her hair. He knew it wasn't a question so he waited for her to continue at her pace. His other hand was rubbing both of hers lightly, trying to warm them up. Rosette stared down at their hands, his skin slightly darker than hers and sporting short, neatly kept claws, deceptively innocent looking but very lethal in a fight. The words the incubus said came back to her and made her gut wrench. Did Chrono really see her as just a soul to use? No, that was silly! In Hell, he suffered right beside her, and at times just seeing crimson eyes made her able to bear it more. But that dream...

"I was dreaming, about Aion. He... He was trying to get me to give him my soul. And... And there was that pit, with the people screaming, and their hands..." She bit her lower lip to keep from crying.

Arms circled her shoulders, bringing her closer so her head rested on a thin, but muscled, shoulder. Dark violet hair pulled free from the braid swung into her line of sight as Chrono held her, leaning his head against hers. "No. Aion will never have you, not ever. Please, trust me, Rosette. I'm going to keep you safe from him and anyone else who tries to take you. I know... I know the first time it didn't work, but now-,"

"Stop going all soft," she mumbled, touched by his words. And she didn't want to hear him say he didn't protect her the first time around, either. He did, and that was that.

The arms squeezed tighter for a second, reminding her that even though he was in his small form, he could still very easily overpower her physically. He just chose not to. He let her smack him around, beat him up, do all kinds of things. But he could stop it any time. It made her wonder why he never did. Maybe he liked it. Ew... the little pervert!

"Hey... I think I smell pancakes," Chrono said, picking his head up and taking a deep breath. "And eggs and bacon."

That made her lift her head as well, sniffing as the breakfast smells wafted to her nose. "Mmm... Smells good, doesn't... it?" As she was speaking, she'd turned to look at Chrono, which put her mere inches from his face. Crimson eyes, usually so gentle, turned darker and more serious. Chrono's gaze dropped lower to her parted lips before meeting hers again, half closed.

"Rosette..."

Rosette's heart began to race again, but this time it wasn't in response to fear. It was because of Chrono and how close they were and the way her name came from him in a soft whisper, making it almost reverent. Her eyes closed breifly as he brushed his knuckles against her cheek before his claws slipped back through her hair, holding the back of her head. He angled her head a little, drifting closer and closer, eyes slipping shut. Oh, yes...

A brief knock came before the door was yanked open and Tegan entered, smiling happily and oblivious to what she'd interupted. Both of them jerked apart, blushing dark and unable to look at the other. "Good morning! Breakfast is ready and- hey, what's wrong? You're both blushing!"

"Are not," they both said, still not looking at each other.

Tegan's eyes went from one to the other and back again, her sunny smile slipping at the edges. "Alright. Well, Asmodius has a field trip planned today. He wants to get in some intense training. And, Chrono, he'd like to have a word with you, at your convenience of course."

Rosette finally did glance at Chrono when a soft growl came from his throat. "After breakfast," he practically bit out. Huh? What was wrong with him?

Nodding, the necromancer shut the door softly, heels clicking on the marble floors as she left. Rosette watched Chrono get up, pulling open the chest of drawers against one wall. "Chrono, what's going on?" She stood up as well, dragging the blanket partially with her. It took a little kicking before it finally let go of her leg.

"Nothing," he answered, sounding almost like his normal self.

Rosette was hugging herself. A draft was coming from somewhere, but it didn't seem to effect the Devil. She went over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder to spin him around and look at her. Just as she'd expected, his face was set carefully, eyes hard and glittering like really fine rubies. He was angry and didn't want her to see it. Pretending to think about it, she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Am I gonna have to beat it outta you?"

Chrono's lips lifted, the hardness leaving his eyes instantly. "No. Everything's jake, I swear. You're cold, you should go put some clothing on."

"Okay, but you better be quick or I'll eat all the bacon!" She went racing from the room for her own to him shouting how unfair that was and that it better be a REAL outfit and not something she just put on to get down to breakfast first. Rosette shut the door to her room, still giggling to herself and started going through her drawers for clothing. She pulled out jeans and a teal t-shirt that had the outline of a funny looking Devil in pink on it. It was winking and holding a box of chocolates. She and Chrono had almost died laughing at it. As she was getting dressed, she looked out over the balcony through glass doors, the curtains probably drawn back by a maid. It had a really great view of a short green lawn with a round lake that Asmodius said was deep enough for boating in and the forest beyond.

Today, for some reason, the forest was what really held her attention. It didn't look any different than it normally did. A mist had formed from the lake and was weaving through the dark tree trunks, the leaves were just beginning to look gilded from the sun touching them. Nothing special, but... well, it was one place she and Chrono hadn't managed to explore yet. All the tame gardens had been searched and walked within and inch of their lives, the mansion (with the exception of everyone else's bedrooms) was mapped out so well they could have walked it blind folded. The forest and it's lake, however, were still a mystery. Maybe today...

Rosette shook her head and grabbed the hair brush off the dresser, untangling her hair quickly. Two rubber bands went around her wrist and she was still fumbling into her shoes as she left her room, making an awkward dash for the stairs. Chrono was just leaving his room, completely dressed. Crap! Her staring at that stupid forest gave him an edge. Their eyes met and then...

"GET OUTTA THE WAY!"

"OW, DON'T SHOVE SO HARD, ROSETTE!"

Remington looked up from his tea at the thudding footsteps, shouts and laughter. Chrono and Rosette, no surprise there. He flicked his newspaper back in place, smiling as Tegan began to mutter about the house coming down around them. Asmodius was sitting at the head of the table as usual and trying not to show his surprise as the couple making all the racket both made a dash for the doorway, getting stuck as they struggled to be the first through.

"HEY! Watch those hands, pal," Rosette snarled, bonking Chrono over the head with her fist.

"I didn't mean to," Chrono pleaded, quickly moving the hand he'd accidentally placed on her breast and blushing as red as his sweater. "Just- HEY! Watch the knee!"

"Serves a pervert like you right! Now, lemme- AHHHH!"

"WHOOOA!"

They both fell through the door way, groaning and rubbing elbows, heads, sides and knees. Everyone, including the maids and except Remington (who was used to this sort of entrance), were now staring at them in surprise. Remington was trying very hard not to choke on the tea he was drinking through his laughter. "My, my, what a morning routine," he commented.

Rosette was on her feet quickly, smiling nervously and rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, you know, get the blood pumping and all that... ahaha." Chrono got up after her, pouting and glaring at her back.

"You might want to save that energy for the training today," Asmodius cautioned as the duo took their seats and immediately began another fight over the plate of bacon. It stopped when maids uncovered two separate plates stacked high with pancakes... and enough bacon to satisfy even them. Rosette hesitated only long enough to pick up a fork, while Chrono at least put his napkin in his lap before digging in.

"Why, wut ar 'ee doin' t'day?" Rosette asked around the pancakes. She swigged back the milk, ate a strip of bacon and dove back into the pancakes. Now, even Remington was watching how she was piling away the food. He'd seen Rosette eat enough times to know she was eating twice as fast (and twice as much) than usual.

"Um... we're going outside," the half-breed continued, politely trying not to stare. Tegan had stopped eating, sitting back with a thoughtful look on her face.

"To da fo'est?"

"Not exactly. The training room is very limited in space, and today I was thinking it might do us all some good to practice with more powerful Devils than what we put in the training room."

The attention shifted from Rosette to Asmodius. No one needed to say out loud how nervous they were about this plan. The tension in the air was thick enough to almost touch. Swallowing down his food quickly, Chrono said softly, voice very carefully neutral, "You plan to summon a Noble?"

Asmodius blinked, frowning at the question. "Summon a Noble in broad daylight? Hardly! No, I was thinking more along the lines of your true form... and mine."

"Ah... got it," Tegan replied, nodding. "Paint balls."

"Precisely."

"Huh?" Both Chrono and Rosette were completely confused now by the conversation.

Dabbing his thin lips, Asmodius stood up, blue eyes shining with contained amusement. "Whenever you're finished, please join us by the lake. Ewan, are you coming?"

Remington finished his tea quickly and stood up. "Sorry, but I just saw the time. I have an appointment today with an old friend."

"Oh? I wasn't aware you had aquaintances in this part of England."

Remington knew that was Asmodius' polite way of asking where he was going. He smiled, shrugging as he backed out of the room. "I shouldn't be very long." With a final wave over his shoulder, he disappeared.

"Tegan and I will be preparing everything outside for you. Please come out when you're ready." The other two left as well, leaving Chrono and Rosette with a massive amount of food still on the table.

* * *

Remington looked up at the plain, white stoned building and let out a small sigh. It had been a few years since he'd been here. A few? More like ten. He didn't know why he was so nervous about this meeting, but his hand shook as he pressed the intercom button. The minute he'd heard on the news what happened, he knew he'd have to come here and check in person that all was well. Devil worshippers were almost as bad as Devils themselves.

The door opened, showing a nurse in a starched white uniform. "May I help you?" she asked cooly, professionally.

"Hello, my name is Ewan Remington. I spoke to someone over the phone-,"

"Ah, yes! You spoke with me. I'm Gail, please do come in." She stepped back to let him into the building.

It smelled strongly of hospital and elderly. He could never decide if it was the food they cooked or just the natural scent that came when humans were close to passing, but he never was very fond of it. Or got used to it for that matter. It made him sad in a way. Here was this person, reduced to being in bed and having someone take care of them night and day. How badly did that chafe their pride? Who knew what kind of life that person led before being sent to an institution like this?

"You saved us a lot of trouble, Mr. Remington," Gail the nurse continued as she led him down the hall.

"Oh?" His head was swimming a little with the constant press of voices, some making no sense at all while others prayed and prayed for forgiveness. God may have taken his wings, but he was still an Angel and could hear those voices. Yet another reason why he hated being in a place like this. Each room he passed by, he could see nurses and doctors, the elderly, sometimes even family. Gail was babbling on and on about the sudden fire and how no one knew where or how it had started. Basically, she was reciting to him the official press release he'd heard last night.

Remington froze and stared in the last room before they came to the chief doctor's office. Anamalech! The Angel of Death was standing in the corner, hands folded across the front of her black robes, golden hair pulled back for a change. An old man was lying in bed, coughing. Family members were sitting nearby, trying hard not to cry. As if sensing his gaze, Anamalech looked up with a little bitter twist of lips.

"I'm not here for any of yours today, Ewan," she said softly. "Just making the rounds in this place."

He wanted to answer her, but since she was invisible and he wasn't (and couldn't ever be again) it would only look as if he were talking to someone in the room.

Gail came back to his side, looking at the scene. "Ah, Mr. Hatcher," she murmured. "Pneumonia. It's doubtful he'll last the rest of this week."

Anamalech laughed from her corner. "Shows how much she knows! He's not going to last another day."

"My sympathies to the family," Remington answered, answering laughing blue eyes with an angry glare. He knew seeing nothing but death would harden a person, but this was almost heartless of her!

Gail smiled kindly and motioned him onward. "Dr. Thompson said to go right in, Mr. Remington. Would you care for some tea?"

"No, thank you." Remington gave her a final smile before she turned and left. Taking a deep breath and saying a quick prayer that everything was fine, he knocked on the door.

"Come in, please."

He pushed open the door, smiling as warmly as he could under the nervous circumstances, shaking hands with the doctor behind the desk. Dr. Thompson was a short man, very Italian back ground judging from the slightly hooked nose and black hair just beginning to grey. A friendly man, but with a mind almost too sharp for his own good. Remington suspected highly the man might be a touch psychic. He'd picked up right away that he wasn't exactly human the first time he'd come here.

"Ewan, you look about the same as ever," Dr. Edward Thompson said pleasantly. He was the only human living now that knew exactly where he came from. And, unlike the average human who would ask a thousand questions, he very wisely refrained.

"Dr. Thompson. You've lost a little weight."

Dr. Thompson chuckled, hand going to his midsection. "The wife put me on some tofu and wheat germ diet. I say, it's bloody wrong of a woman to do that sort of thing!"

Remington only took a seat, the smile still on his face. "I assume you know why I came?"

Sighing, the man sat down, rubbing his eyes behind his glasses. "And just like that the niceties are done. Yes, I had a feeling I'd be seeing you very soon. A terrible thing, that fire. Damaged the entire western wing to the point where we have patients double rooming until we can transfer them to St. Jude's. Only three people died, thank God. All of them desperately ill. In a way, it was almost a mercy."

"And? "

Dr, Thompson folded his hands on top of his desk, studying them closely. "I'm sorry, Ewan. I'm very sorry. Gail, the nurse who escorted you, was assigned to him. I would have thought... I told her you were a 'relative' coming to see him. Damn the woman!"

"Then he died?" Something told him that wasn't it at all. If he HAD died, Dr. Thompson would have said so immediately.

"Actually, he disappeared. We couldn't find him at all in the ruins. Wheel chair abandoned, bed empty. And you know how terrible the swelling in his joints is. There was no earthly way possible he could have just walked off on his own."

Remington sighed, lacing his fingers together across his chest as he slouched down in the chair, thinking. He'd been afraid of this. Very afraid. But he couldn't go jumping to conclusions, not without a little more digging. And, as it so happened, there was someone to ask right here in the hospital. "Please excuse me, Dr. Thompson. I'm about to make a scene."

Dr. Thompson nodded and didn't ask questions. "Well, jolly good to see you again. Perhaps the next time can be a social visit."

"Yes, I would like that. Please do tell Patty I said hello." Patty Thompson... he hadn't seen her in years, but she was a kindly soul. And he knew she'd been sneaking in to see his 'relative' when he hadn't been there in a number of years.

"Right-o. Take care now!"

Remington stood up, moving with what he knew wasn't human speed for the door. He heard a startled, "Bloody hell!" from behind him as he swept out. He didn't pause when he came to Mr. Hatcher's room, but stalked in, startling the family no end. Anamalech pushed away from the corner, eyes widening a little in surprise.

"Oi, what do ye think yer doin', mate?" a young man asked angrily, grabbing Remington's arm.

The eyes he turned on the human were otherworldly and made the man back up, jaw dropped in shock. "I'm giving your grandfather a few more hours of life. Kindly let go of my arm," he said as levelly as possible. The man backed away.

"What, interupting with my job?" Anamalech sneered. She winced when he grabbed her braid roughly, winding it around his fist.

"Ana, let's have a chat, shall we?" he asked sarcastically, a bitter smile gracing his lips. He practically dragged the Angel of Death out of the room amidst whispers of, "Who was that?" and, "When did she get here?"

Anamalech was no longer wearing her robes. As soon as he'd touched her and made her visible, it had changed to a smart black business suit, the jacket buttoned up in front without a shirt under it. He half-dragged her with him to a janitor's closet, shutting it behind him before slamming her up into the wall, a gun under her chin.

"You dare to interupt me?" she snarled, staying as still as her seething frame could at gun point.

"I have a couple questions for you, Anamalech," Remington said coldly, ignoring the soft heat starting to fill the air around them. He still had a little power left, but none to compete with her. If she unveiled herself here, he was done for. Only one way to stop that. The safety on the gun clicked off and immediately the aura began to dissipate.

"Burn in Hell's fires! I owe nothing to one who has fallen from God's favor!"

"Anamalech, please don't force me to shoot you. It will only complicate things further." He dug the barrel up into her chin further, forcing her head to tilt back or be run through. "Now, let's talk about the fire. Three souls died that night. That means you had to have known in advance there would be a need for you. Which leads me to believe you know who started the fire."

"As if I would tell you!"

He felt his lips twist into a smile, knew his eyes were glowing almost as brightly as hers. "Now, now, let's not be uncivil! I'm not stupid enough to assume you would give me a name. But, answer me this; it wasn't started by a human, was it?"

Closing her eyes and swallowing, she shook her head no.

"See, now we're getting somewhere. Was it an Angel or Devil?"

"_Ustullo Inferno!_"

She'd just told him to burn in Hell. Again. "You're being awfully repetative, my dear," he remarked dryly. "So, about the question. Surely you can answer that for me... can't you?" He began to squeeze down on the trigger, knowing she could hear the movement of metal easily.

"Devil!" she screamed. Sweat was just pearling along her forehead and neck. He could almost smell the fear on her.

"One more question, and you're free to go about your job."

"When I'm done here, I'm coming for you! You think I'll let something as degrading as this slide? Watch your back, Ewan. More than that little bitch and her pet Devil, I'm going to kill you!"

"I always thought your posting as the Angel of Death was a mistake. You should have been made the guardian angel of thespians. And, as I said before, your warning is duely noted. Now, the last question; what happened to Joshua Christopher?"

* * *

Rosette stooped low behind the hedge, gun full of round little balls pressed up close to her. She was sweating and not all of it was from having been forced to run, duck and hide for the last few hours. Most of it was from adrenaline, and also the fact she was feeling a little light-headed. This was the longest Chrono had ever been in his true form. She glanced down at the open watch and saw that the hands were stopped, unmoving. So, it had really and truly worked. He was using her soul, and she was surviving off of him. HURRAY!

"YAAAAHHHH!" She rolled across the grass at the whoosh of big black feathered wings, just missing a paint ball the size of her fist splattering the ground. Instead of actual powers, Chrono and Asmodius had pain bombs that they could throw faster than she could track. Rosette kept rolling as quickly as she could, missing the bombs flung at her hard.

"Not bad," Asmodius called from his height as she quickly got to her feet. He dodged every shot she made at him, cork screwing through the air in an almost beautiful dance.

"Right back at ya!" she called back, grinning as she almost forced him to dive into the ground. She could see the startled look from where she stood.

Rosette spun around at another gust of wind at her back, aiming for Chrono as he seemed to materialize out of nowhere. She'd never seen him move so fast before! And if the way Asmodius moved was beautiful, Chrono was just sheer magic. Try as she might, she never could drive him into the ground. "HOLD STILL, YA PILL!"

"The point's to try and hit me, Rosette," he called back, flashing fangs as he grinned and swirved away from her. It never ceased to amaze her how different his two forms were. This one she always felt like a little girl next to. He looked like someone who'd lived for thousands of years. In his other form, it was easier to joke with him because he seemed her age, and a little more human. There was no mistaking the thing sailing above her for anything but Devil.

She had to dive to the side again as Chrono finally returned fire, hitting mere inches from her feet. She didn't know if he was missing on purpose or if she was really moving that quickly away from the lightening fast attacks, but she was suddenly running as fast as her legs could take her. She kept running and running, ignoring the shouts to stop. No way was she falling for that one! It wasn't until she was breathless and had to stop to suck air into her lungs, leaning forward with her hands on her knees, that she realized she wasn't out in the sun anymore. In fact, it was nice and cool and heavily shaded. Glancing up over head, she saw a thick canopy of tree leaves waving with the breeze. She'd run straight into the forest.

A thin mist swirled around her ankles, probably remaining from the lake earlier that morning. Glancing back over her shoulder at the edge of sunlight, Rosette stood up completely. She'd wanted to go here this morning. Now she was here. No one would miss her if she went exploring a little. Turning away from the light, she began to walk deeper into the forest, picking her way carefully over roots and ruts. It was incredibly still and silent in here, no birds to break it, no animals scurrying around. It was peaceful and... a little creepy. The trees were mostly pine, with a few oak and even some maples mixed in. Shrubs, vines and dried leaves covered the ground, and in one or two spots, she spotted some wild flowers. It was actually very pretty here, almost like home...

Rosette pushed on further. She could hear water somewhere and knew it must be a creek of some kind. With as sweaty and dirty as she was, a quick dip in the creek sounded nice. She moved faster through the forest, following the sound of running water as it got closer and closer. Finally, as she slipped the rest of the way down a small bank, she found it. It was a little deeper than she'd thought it was. It would easily come up to her waist. Glancing from side to side just be be sure she was all alone, she set the paint ball gun down and kicked her shoes off, wriggling her toes out of the ankle socks. Maybe just a quick little dip...

She'd just worked her shirt over her head when she heard a twig snap. She froze, reaching for the gun on the ground. If it was that peeping tom of a Devil... Rosette spun around, firing at the same time.

The paintballs splattered against a bare chest. Silver gleamed from around a thick neck, eyes so black they almost didn't gleam in the light. Dark green hair hung loose down it's back. The Devil looked down at the bright pink splotches marring his muscled chest and then turned that gaze slowly on her, fangs peeking out from a malicious grin. Uh-oh... Rosette began to back away tripping over a hidden root and falling, her back hitting the icy cold water and mud. She didn't have another gun! Just that stupid paint ball one... Rosette's hand came in contact with a rounded stone. She gripped it, waiting for the Devil to come closer. It was better than nothing!

"So, the rumors were true," the Devil's deep vocie rumbled, the grin widening. He advanced down upon her slowly, flexing clawed fingers. "You sure are a pretty thing."

"So I've been told," she answered, still propped up on her side. Just a little closer...

"I have a message for you, pretty girl. From Aion."

"I don't care what HE has to say!" Rosette launched the rock at him. The Devil wasn't expecting this and it thunked hard enough on his head to draw blood. Hissing, hand exploring the wound and coming away red, those black eyes narrowed before he lunged at her, growling.

"SAALAH!" Rosette yelped and scrambled to one side as a crimson blur slammed into the green haired Devil, driving it across the creek and into the higher embankment on the other side. As the water and dirt settled, Rosette got to her feet and saw Chrono's back, one hand wrapped around the Devil's thick throat. She didn't need to see his face to know he was beyond furious. She could feel the anger around him from where she stood.

"How DARE you attack what's mine!" Chrono snarled, voice deepening even further in his ire. Black and crimson began to form around him, taking on wispy flame shapes. "A lowly vassel like you! For that, you die!"

Saalah, the green-haired Devil, grimaced, making choked sounds as blood began to seep down his throat. Struggling to tear his gaze from Chrono's he managed to give a final malicious grin to Rosette. "A-Aion says... hel-lo. And... s-s-so does... Joshua."

Rosette fell to her knees, unable to breathe. Did he just say... She could almost feel her heart stop, feel the numbness wash over her with that name. Joshua... he couldn't be...

There was a sharp crackling sound and heat like the touch of fire against her skin, but Rosette remained where she'd fallen, unaware that she was surrounded in hellfire and should have been dead from it. It raged on for a good minute before Chrono pulled it back. The ash floating down the river was all that remained of Saalah.

Rosette knew Chrono was sloshing through the water toward her, saw a black leather-clad knee bend in front of her as he knelt down, a clawed hand gently pushing her hair back. "Did he hurt you, Rosette?" The question was incredibly gentle, especially when compared to violent rage he'd displayed mere moments before. But she couldn't focus on that. She didn't see the naked worry on his face, didn't really care she was almost half-naked in front of him. Or the fact that she'd just been caught in the middle of hellfire and survived without a scratch. What mattered was what the Devil had said.

"He said Joshua. Chrono... Joshua's alive!"


	8. Confronting Your Demons

CHAPTER 8: Confronting Your Demons

The scene Remington walked in on was NOT the one he'd been expecting. He'd thought they'd be training still, or eating lunch. Instead, he walked in on a room of somber people. Rosette was sitting in a chair, scowling at the carpet like it had just tried to bite her. Chrono, in his smaller form, was standing with his back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and watching Rosette. Tegan was on the computer pulling stuff up. And Asmodius...

"This was of relative importance, Ewan," the halfbreed cut in sharply, pushing up from his own chair to approach Remington, eyes snapping fiercely.

Remington sighed, shoulders slumping. They'd found out, it seemed. But how? "I had reasons not to say anything," he replied.

"You had REASONS? That's my BROTHER!" Rosette shouted, finally looking up from the floor. Chrono took a step away from the wall, arms dropping to his sides. He was either going to comfort her or restrain her, one of the two. Remington was truly hoping for the second option.

"Rosette... how old was Joshua when you died?"

Rosette blinked, paling just slightly at the reminder she'd been dead. "Um... twelve, I think."

"He's now ninety-two years old, Rosette. After the first incident with Aion, he never recovered. Joshua lived in a fantasy world. He didn't know what had happened, who he was. He didn't remember his sister."

"STOP IT!" Rosette closed her eyes tightly, covering her ears with her hands.

Remington continued anyway, speaking louder so the sound would get through. "I took care of him, for as long as I could, but I was still in the Order. That put Joshua at risk, and I couldn't allow that. So, fifteen years ago, I put him in the care of a doctor friend and visited him as much as possible. Rosette, he was happy there. Happier than he ever was with me."

"But... it's _Joshua_! I don't care, I don't care! You should have said something!" No one would have guessed from the tone of her voice that she was crying. What gave it away was the slight shake to her shoulders. Chrono sat on the chair arm, putting a gentle hand to her back. He was simply letting her know he was there if she needed him. Rosette sat up fully, sniffling and hugged Chrono around the waist tightly.

"No matter the age, Ewan, Joshua is still very valuable to Aion," Tegan said into the silence that followed. "Look what it's done to her. Psychological warfare is as good as any bullet, you know."

Remington sighed wearily, rubbing his eyes. "I know that, but I sincerely never considered the fact that Aion would be able to find him. We disappeared fifteen years ago, and I've not seen him in ten. He doesn't have any powers to speak of. It was an oversight on my behalf, one that I now regret with every fiber of my being. And I'll do anything necessary to atone for that."

"What's important right now, Rosette," Asmodius said softly. "Is that you don't let this get to you. Remember that we have a collective goal; stop Aion and the Seven Sinners. We're in a very tremulous position right now, one that cannot afford having you lose sight of the true goal."

Rosette never responded to that. Chrono continued to hold her, but the glare he was giving the half-breed was anything but kind or sympathetic. "That's unfair of you," he said coldly. "Rosette's been through a lot in her life. She's not some kind of toy where you can turn the emotions on and off whenever you feel like it."

"I understand this, Chrono-"

"You understand nothing! You weren't there when all this first started. You weren't there when it came to an end. So don't preach about not letting this get to her!"

Asmodius backed down from that, carefully lowering his eyes from the snapping crimson gaze. There was a long silence in which no one spoke a word. Rosette had stopped crying though and was staring at the floor with a stillness that was almost inhuman. Chrono still sat on the arm of the chair, his hands now folded in his lap and untouching her. It was finally Tegan who broke the silence with a heavy sigh. "Well, there _is_ a positive outlook to all this."

Everyone turned to stare at her in disbelief. She shrugged and said, "Obviously, Aion's frightened that the two of you are back as well. And that's a good thing for us. Anything that can rattle our enemies is to our advantage. Which is why it's very important for you to remain calm, Rosette. You saved Joshua before, you can do it again."

Whether it was that last sentence that did it or something else entirely, Rosette's eyes hardened and she stood up, hands fisted by her sied. "Chrono."

"Yes?" the Devil asked slowly, watching her suspiciously.

"You said you knew someone who had information. I wanna meet them. Tonight."

Chrono took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay."

* * *

The sun had completely left the sky, throwing the world into a darkness studded over with brilliant stars and full moon, which was starting to wax downward. It was almost two in the morning at the mansion, but all the lights were on. After the conversation earlier, Chrono had disappeared, saying something about 'negotiating admittance' and finding whoever they were supposed to meet. From the tone in his voice and the look on his face, he obviously didn't think they were going to be allowed to see this person. he'd come out from his room almost two hours later, looking a little pale, but with the good news they had an appointment at ten o'clock in the evening. In Chicago.

That had sent Tegan into a tizzy, running down to her lab and shouting orders left and right to get certain items around. Rosette had cheered up quite a bit when Tegan gave her some new hand grenades filled with the Blood of Christ. Namely, it was blessed wine, but it was a good choice for explosives since alcohol caught fire and burned hotter. And Remington had gotten his wish. Tegan had given him the G11 assault rifle he'd been eying since before the wedding. It was already partially disassembled and stored into the black wool jacket.

Rosette sat at the bottom of the steps, elbow supporting her head up as she stared at the clock in boredom. She fidgeted a little in her outfit, not really used to how tight it was and how much skin it really showed. Chrono had told them where they were going (somewhere called Eden) and a quick search on Tegan's computer showed it was a dance hall. No biggie, she was good at dancing, despite what Chrono would say! Tegan had helped her pick something out that she could fight in but at the same time hide a weapon. That's how she'd ended up in the black shirt with thin straps, bright pink shirt that hugged her upper body and was really see-through, dark blue jeans and really comfy heeled boots she could run in. She had a gun hidden on her ankle, one under the knee-length blue jean jacket and the grenades in a purse that was really too big for anything BUT hiding weapons in. Chrono had insisted she and Tegan wear blessed crucifixes for the evening. Neither of them had aruged about extra holy items in a place over run with Devils and Demons.

Speaking of Chrono... she looked over to wear he was leaning against the wall, in his taller form, arms crossed over his stomach. He was the only one not wearing civilian clothing, dressed in his usual leather gear. He was staring up the stairs thoughtfully as they waited for Asmodius to join them. He sure took a long time getting ready, she thought absently. She was a little distracted by Chrono's true form, and not just because of how warm it made her feel. She was a little light-headed from the seal being broken, but they'd done it an hour in advance for a couple reasons. One, Chrono needed to be in that form to travel the astral lines with her. And two, she wanted to get used to the light-headedness before any fighting actually happened.

Her stomach backflipped when narrowed crimson eyes turned to her, softening a little as he offered her a quick smile. When he looked at her like that...

Asmodius came down the stairs at last, straightening the black cashmere duster over his clothing. "Is everything ready?" he asked, glancing around at everyone inquiringly.

"I think so," Tegan answered, adjusting the small knife hidden in a wrist sheath. It wasn't designed to do a lot of damage, but raising the dead needed blood and if an animal couldn't be gotten, human blood would do just as well. "So, before we leave, are you going to tell us who we're meeting with?"

Chrono blushed, which was something rare in his true form to see. "I can't tell you his name. He's a Devil, a very rare and highly ranked Devil. And he's old, almost as old as Satan. He knows everything that every Devil and Demon does, and because of this he's forgotten a lot about himself, including his own name. I'm sorry, that's the best I can do."

Tegan let out a nervous little laugh, eyebrows quirking upward. "Oh, joy. A Devil who can't even remember his own name."

"I hate to cut the witty reparte short, but we're going to be late if we don't hurry," Remington cut in, tapping the watch on his wrist to emphasize that they had to hurry. Everyone stepped outside, Remington and Rosette with Chrono, Tegan with Asmodius. Since Chrono was at his full strength he would be taking two through the lines while Asmodius took one. Everyone stepped back a pace as the two unfurled their wings. Tegan swallowed loudly as she stepped in close to Asmodius, arms going around his waist.

"If you drop me and I die, I swear I'm coming back to haunt you," she muttered shortly before a squeal broke free as he took off into the sky, disappearing with a faint white flash.

Rosette and Remington did the same with Chrono, neither one looking very comfortable with this mode of travel. "I don't suppose now would be a good time to mention I'm afraid of heights," Remington asked nervously, closing his eyes as Chrono began to fly, an arm around both of their waistes.

"An Angel who's afraid to fly?" Chrono teased, glancing down as Rosette slowly relaxed her death grip a little around his stomach. She could feel the thrum of energy as it drew closer and closer to them, prickling along her skin. It bordered on being slightly painful or slightly ticklish.

"There was a good reason most of my assignments were earth bound," the Angel in question replied right before they entered the astral lines.

Rosette felt it. She could actually _feel_ when they entered that otherworldly energy. It was like the prickly feeling suddenly exploded all around her and sucked her in, covering her in it. They were going fast, she realized, VERY fast. So fast that everything was a blur and it seemed like they were standing still while everything revolved around them. In next to no time they were exploding into the air over Chicago, staring down at the city all aglow with electric lights. But the lights were clouded and dulled. Something was veiling the city. Rosette squinted, coughing a little as smoke hit her hard. "What's that smell?"

"Something's wrong," Chrono muttered, slowly dropping them to the ground in an alley. There was no sign of Tegan and Asmodius anywhere. It was when they were on the paved ground that they heard the screams, the shouted orders, and sirens. The smoke was coming from the city itself, billowing down the street, turning the yellow lights a dirty brown color. Rosette and Remington covered their mouths as a smell other than smoke assaulted them, sickly sweet and cloying in the nose and throat. What the heck was that? Chrono was already moving for the crowds of people gathered at the front of the alley.

"Chrono!" Rosette ran after him as he stepped out behind the people in his true form. If anyone saw him... Her thoughts trailed off and her steps faultered when she saw what he was staring at.

"Good God!" Remington exclaimed, eyes widening in horror.

A whole city block was lit up and burning, the smoke rushing upward and outward with the wind, blanketing the entire city in thick ash and that horrible stench. Fire fighters were running around like mad, trying to put out the flames. The more they hosed them down, the hotter and higher they seemed to get. Coughing, struggling to take a breath that didn't burn from the smoke, Rosette squinted into the flames... and figured out what that sweet smell was. "There're people in there! Chrono, look!" There were shapes twisting about in the flames, twirling around frantically to put out the fires that just refused to die down. They were screaming through broken windows, begging to be saved. All she could do was gape at the scene and fight not to be sick.

Chrono suddenly stiffening and whirling around with a fierce growl was about all the warning Rosette and Remington had that there was someone behind them.

"Why, hello Rosette. Chrono. So good to see you again. Are you enjoying the little show?"

It was all she could do to keep the gun level and steady as pale, laughing eyes met hers and held, a cruel smile twisting thin lips. Silvery hair was being whipped back in the fire wind as he shifted, the fire catching his glasses and hiding his eyes momentarily. Rosette could feel the chill spreading from her stomach on upward, trying desperately to take over. She couldn't let it, she couldn't let it surface. If she did, she was lost, and that wouldn;t be good with him standing not even six feet away.

Aion's smile grew more confident as he spread his arms to either side. "Well, I'm waiting. Are you going to shoot me?"

Two guns exploded, bullets zipping through the air to explode in crimson blossoms across a white shirt. Aion fell to the ground, unmoving and staring blankly at them. Remington and Rosette crept closer, guns still trained on him. Was he...

"FREEZE!"

"Hands where I can see 'em!"

"Drop the weapons!"

Without thinking, they both looked over at the police running at them with guns drawn... and sprinted for the alley again, Chrono right behind them.


	9. The Great Escape

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Seeing as that last chapter was one of the crappiest ones to date, here's a very fast update to explain everything... sort of. I'm sorry for confusing anyone, but I'm not feeling too hot and I'm very tired and I just wanted to get something out. Okay, enough excuses, here's your very fast update!

* * *

CHAPTER 9: The Great Escape

Remington dove over the side of the car, landing squarely on his feet with Rosette right behind him. Chrono had taken to the roof tops almost as soon as the police started chasing them, trying to avoid being seen. Blood slid down his arm and off his hand from where a bullet had gone through his shoulder but he ignored it and pushed on. It was bad enough running from the authorities, getting caught would be a good deal worse.

"Aion... did that... on purpose," Rosette gasped out, checking over her shoulder to see where the cops were.

That was exactly what he'd been thinking. Aion had allowed himself to get shot, clearly knowing he wasn't going to be destroyed by the rounds. Which was something he'd have to discuss with Tegan. The bullets were designed for killing Devils and Demons. Why would Aion be so confident they wouldn't work? It pointed to a spy being in the lab and that was something the necromancer should be aware of. But that was later. Right now, he was running from the police and losing blood.

"Of course he did," he called over to the girl before throwing himself up and over a chain link fence in their path. He gaped in surprise as Rosette jumped and nearly cleared it. That was impossible for a human. What in the world... A bullet striking the bricks near his head was enough to make him stop wondering about her amazing jumping abilities and take up running again. Bullets whistled around them, striking the pavement and buildings as the cops opened fire while two others climbed the fence. Miraculously, none of the bullets struck.

It had been a set-up all along. He doubted very much Chrono's contact was involved in it. The fires had probably been started to destroy the Devil in the first place. But Aion had known they'd be there. Someone in the mansion HAD to be a spy! Aion had purposely waited for them to come out and had made sure the authorities were watching them. By turning them into fugitives, he'd very effectively banned them from entering Chicago again. Obviously, there was somethig very important here that they needed.

"Ewan, look!"

Remington saw what had cause Rosette's alarm parked ahead of them. The police had sealed off the other end of the alley and were waiting for them to come within firing range. A dark shadow passed over head as Chrono continued to travel above them. An idea hit him like a sledge hammer. Of course! Why didn't he think of this before? "CHRONO! GET DOWN HERE!"

"WHAT?" Rosette shrieked, eyes wide. She shrieked again at the sudden rush of wings that swooped down and over them.

"Holy shit, what the hell was that?" one of the cops behind the exclaimed.

"Sweet Jaysus!"

Chrono landed between them and the cop car. With one solid blow, the car was swept up into the air and across the street, long claw marks cutting through the metal sides. The eight cops behind the car went running, some still bothering to point their weapons. Chrono whipped around, eyes glowing red in the darkness. "Get down," he growled. Rosette and Remington quickly hit the ground, covering their ears at a tremendous roaring blast. The cops behind them screamed, hands pressing to their ears as they fell to their knees in the blast of otherworldly sound.

A clawed hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him to his feet. Remington had only a moment to get a good hold on Chrono's waist before they were airborn again, making for the astral lines as quickly as possible. It ws while they were in the air that he heard his cell phone go off. Awkwardly clinging to the Devil with one arm, he fished it out of his pocket. He had to answer it before they entered the lines or the signal would be lost. "Tegan?"

"Where the HELL are you guys?" the necromancer shouted over the phone, voice tinny but still very obviously angered. "We just spotted three of the Seven Sinners, there's a fire raging through the city and you three are nowhere in sight!"

"We ended up on the wrong side of the law. I'll explain later, but we need to go somewhere safe."

"That's why I've been calling you for the last twenty damn minutes! Tell Chrono not to go back to the mansion, but go to this address in Paris." She gave it to him and he quickly memorized it. "We'll meet you there in a few minutes."

Remington hung the phone up and relayed the message just as the energy of the astral lines wrapped around them.

"Paris? We're going to Paris?" Rosette asked, excited despite the fact they'd been running for almost a half hour straight from the Chicago Police Department.

"It seems Asmodius has little rest houses scattered all over the world," Remington commented, smiling. Her good humor truly was infectious.

The flight back took less time than the one there and sudddenly they were landing in another alley, Chrono shifting back into his smaller form quickly before leaning against the nearest building with his eyes closed. The watch sealed back up since he was no longer using her soul. Rosette shivered, rubbing her arms at the cold early morning air seeping through the city. "Hey, are you okay, Chrono?"

"Yes," he answered, but not very convincingly. "That's got to be the longest time I've been in that form for a while."

"Well, you did great! Really swell. When you came down like whoooooosh! And then the car when BAM!" Remington smiled as she continued adding sound effects to their story, knowing full well she was just doing it to get Chrono to smile. By the time the story was done, the Devil was full out laughing and he was chuckling. They were right outside the townhouse looking over the street and were the only people there besides cart vendors setting up their stands early. One of them had a portable espresso machine and the smell of freshly ground coffee in the air was enough to make his mouth water. Normally, he was a tea drinker, but a good shot of espresso was always more than welcomed.

A cold wind swept over them as Asmodius and Tegan landed just a little further down, the half-breed's wings folding back and disappearing into his human disguise. Tegan ran over to them, cheeks smudged with dirt and soot, curls pulling free of her ponytail and a bandage wrapped around her upper arm. "Ewan, you're bleeding!"

Oh... he'd almost forgotten about that. The wound had stopped hurting, which meant it was either healed or so sore he didn't even notice it anymore. He'd not had an opportunity to see how quickly he healed with his wings cut. "It can wait a little longer. At least until we get inside."

Asmodius was crouched by the corner of the building, fingers digging into the mud at the lower corner to pull a brick free and remove a hidden key for the door. He was uninjured but looked even more exhausted than Chrono. "This was my parent's house afte they married. My mother always loved Paris." He walked around to the front and undid the lock, pushing against the slightly swollen wood of the doorway hard to get it open. The building was in pristine condition, all the brick original for it's time, all the windows and doors carefully fixed with modern materials in the classic way. The house was an antique in itself, and quite a bit bigger than it looked from the street.

"Oh... it's so pretty," Rosette whispered, taking in all the rich burgundy, gold and paler pink colors. It was done almost as a Victorian replica in style, right down to highly polished dakr wood furniture and ornately wove rugs. The curtains were pulled back with large bows, the under drapes ivory lace. The entire first floor was extremely feminine and very Azmaria in feel.

Asmodius flicked the fake oil lamps on, lighting up the hallway leading off to the foyer where a massive white grand piano sat. Rosette was already flicking on the lights in more rooms, looking around at all the little details everywhere. "Hey, Chrono! C'mere, you've gotta see this!"

Chrono dragged himself to the room Rosette's voice was coming from, a little chuckle of sound qafting back. "Aw, that's perfect!" They came out of the room with a picture frame, both grinning.

Asmodius' eyes narrowed as Rosette turned to picture around, grinning fit to explode. Azmaria, all grown up in the picture, was with a man who had long dark hair. She was holding a little baby with obvious blue eyes. Tegan cracked up, taking the black and white picture from them. "Aw... Asi, you were just a little bundle, weren't you?"

"Good lord..." Asmodius snatched the photo back, cheeks slightly flushed with embarassment. "There are six bedrooms upstairs, please feel free to use any of them." He took the photo with him as he disappeared around a corner.

"Wow... he's not mad, is he?" Rosette whispered.

"No, he's not," Tegan quickly reassured her. "It's just been an incredibly long night. Speaking of which, let's get some sleep now. We're going to have an even longer day tomorrow."

It didn't take much to get everyone upstairs. Remington found his room and stood a moment, gaze moving from the bed to the bathroom with a very modern shower and a tub large enough for four people. He was exhausted but... a warm shower sounded wonderful. What won that battle in the end was the dried blood on his hand and the fact that he truly didn't want to stain the satin bedspread. Already, the sun was spreading light through the grey sky and people were starting to leave for work. Sighing, he dropped his coat on the floor and began removing the leather gun holster underneath. A quick shower and then to sleep.

* * *

Chrono spluttered as the hot water splashed his face, closing his eyes as he tipped his head back, soaking his long hair. His entire body ached all over from using muscles he hadn't really used in years. Especially his shoulders from having to beat heavy wings almost non stop for a couple hours. All the dirt from the fight washed down the drain, but it didn't take his thoughts with it.

Chicago... there was something in Chicago that the Sinners wanted to keep thema way from. But what? He doubted it was because that was where they had their headquarters set up. No, it had to be something needed to bring about Chaos. Pandemonium's Head was locked away and secure, Satan was guarding it himself. So, it had to be something else, a loophole... SOMETHING! Sighing, he quickly finished washing, reaching out blindly for the first towel for his hair. He soaked up as much access water as he could before grabbing another towel for himself. Long hair was such a hassle...

Chrono took the time to brush his hair out so it didn't tangle too much, but he left his straight. If it dried in a braid, it stayed wavy for days and Rosette would laugh at him. Speaking of Rosette... He knew she shouldn't have been able to jump that high. That wasn't normal for a human. Once again, he wondered if maybe something got changed around when she was brought back. Tegan assured him it hadn't, but still...

Sighing, he finished getting dressed in the same clothing he'd put on that night, minus the shoes and socks. He crawled into bed, stretching his damp hair out to dry as flat as possible and closed his eyes. Rosette... he needed to tell her how he felt. It was starting to really eat at him inside that he couldn't. Why was he so scared to tell her? Maybe it was because he'd been without a true friend his entire life, and telling her he loved her would risk ruining that. He valued his friendship with Rosette first and foremost. His love was just something that came from that. As sleep overcame him, it was filled with her laughter, her bright eyes dancing merrily, her arms hugging him quickly before she ran away.

He woke up briefly when the door to his room opened quietly. Without a word, he flipped the covers back, smiling as Rosette crawled in next to him. He knew eventually he'd have to say something. but for now... this was exactly what he wanted.

The next morning, they were all eating in the foyer, the TV on showing the news from the States. After the initial shock following the discovery of the TV, Rosette and Chrono had settled in, eyes plastered to the images of the fire in Chicago.

"And Chicago police are still tracking down three suspects in the shooting of a man at the scene of the fire," the woman reporter was saying. "Two men and one woman are being searched for by the police. The woman is blonde, between the ages of sixteen and twenty, one of the men is blonde about five-ten and in his early thirties."

"I object to that," Remington argued, setting the demitasse full of espresso down. "Do I really look to be in my thirties?"

"The third suspect the police have no clear description of, but all three are to be considered armed and dangerous. Should you see them, call the authorities immediately and do not approach."

"Yeah, we're armed and dangerous to DEVILS," Rosette snickered, helping herself to a fourth Belgian Waffle. Chrono shook his head, giving a lop-sided smile at the girl.

Asmodius sank back in his chair, rubbing the circles under his eyes. "Well, that settles that. We can't go anywhere near Chicago now. Aion did a beautiful job of seeing to that."

"But we HAVE to get in there," Rosette insisted, gulping back some milk. "I mean, they don't want us there, right? So that means we've gotta find out why!"

"I know, and believe me, Rosette, I spent all night trying to figure out what is so important there," Asmodius replied, his voice taking on almost a groaning quality.

"You look like shit, As. You really need to sleep more," Tegan commented from where she stood by the window.

Asmodius gave her a very unfriendly look but refrained from replying.

"So, until then, what can we do?" Remington asked, folding his hands neatly on the table.

The half-breed shrugged before a little smile came to his worn face. "Enjoy Paris while we can?"

Rosette wasn't the only one excited about that plan. She was just the only one to voice it out loud. "YEEEEEAAAAAHHH!"

* * *

AUTHOR'S OTHER NOTE: Sorry it was short... but they're in PARIS! The City Of Love, Truth and Beauty! Okay, I'm just really tired and babbling now!


	10. Sexual Tension

AUTHOR'S NOTE: At the advice of a reader/reviewer (thank you!), this chapter is being rated Sort Of Mature. Not fully Mature because it's not detailed or anything... not the I'd post something super detailed anyway... but there are some elements that are a tad more mature.

* * *

CHAPTER 10:Sexual Tension

Everyone, man and woman alike, couldn't help but stare as the emergency room doors slid open with a whoosh of air. It was impossible NOT to stare at the slender figure striding through the door. What made this woman different than any other beautiful woman who might have marched through those doors was the wave of insane lust both men and women instantly felt as she stalked further down the hallway. As she passed each room, the inhabitants, including the patients, started falling on each other in what could only be described as an attempt at group orgies. Soft moans, excited panting, and some screams of pleasure followed in her wake, but whether or not she noticed this couldn't be told from the grim set to her lips and the hard glare behind her rose tinted glasses.

The ivory business suit fit her perfectly and complimented her pale golden tan and long black hair perfectly. Because of the glasses, no one could tell her eyes were not just an intense shade of blue, but that they had violet, indigo, sky blue and a little crimson to them as well, sparking to better focus as certain light hit them.

She was the very image of beauty.

She was what every man desired, and what every woman desired to be.

She was Volupte, the Sinner of Lust.

And she was a trifle pissed off.

Volupte continued her stalk down the hall, ignoring as people fell over instrument trays and ripped hospital gowns in their need to feel skin and heat. She was used to this. What she wasn't used to was being inside a human hospital at three in the morning. Sirens were still wailing in the city outside, trying to put out the hellfire Aira, the Sinner of Anger, had lit. She had to hand it to Aion, he was a clever bastard. The fires had worked perfectly in keeping out their enemies, but it failed to flush Nameless. Nameless was the see-all, know-all of Hell. And they had it on good authority he'd recently made contact with a certain kinslayer, one by the name of Chrono. That was unacceptable.

She pushed through the swinging doors into the morgue, whipping off her sunglasses as she locked gazes with the attendant there. His jaw dropped as she came over hand circling under his chin, and pulled him into a fierce kiss, one with lots of tongue and little moans from him. Volupte kissed him until his body sank to the ground, his eyes frozen open and stuck in an expression of pure rapture. The front of his pants were damp from his orgasm, but he wouldn't ever have to be concerned with that. He was dead, his life still being held in her mouth. His instant lust had opened himself up for her to take his soul.

Heels clicking sharply as she scanned the pull out drawers along the walls for John Does, Volupte shook her head, frowning ever so slightly. She knew the moment Aion was reawakened he would ask about that dying human he'd insisted they capture. Joshua is what he'd called him. Why Aion wanted someone so close to death was beyond her, but since he was supplying them with human souls, they would allow him this indulgence. She stopped in front of the first John Doe she found and pulled the heavy drawer open easily, fingers working quickly to unzip the body bag.

Aion was lying perfectly still against the black vinyl, eyes closed. The coroner had already removed the holy bullets, which saved her the trouble of having to dig them out herself. Volupte leaned over, forcing his lips open, and kissed him, blowing the soul of the dead attendant into his lifeless body.

His chest heaved with his first breath as the soul was fed into him, reawakening him from the death-like sleep he'd been in. Their spy at the mansion had done very well indeed, switching the bullets in the guns out for weaker versions, ones that would only paralyze a Devil until they could regain power somehow. A soul was an excellent way of doing that. It was like giving a car battery a jump, just a quick fix to get the blood circulating. Humans were good for something at any rate. Aion's eyes opened and he sat up slowly, completely naked. He blinked a couple times before smiling slowly. "I take it everything went as planned?"

"It did," she answered, her voice low and smooth. It was the kind fo voice that would turn heads in a bar, the kind that men paid good money to hear over the phone. "Surprisingly effective, actually. The others were impressed as well."

"So glad to hear it. And Joshua? How is he?"

Volupte rolled her eyes, stepping back as he swung his legs over the side of the tray, neither of them caring that he was completely nude. She'd seen naked men before, it was nothing new. And Aion wasn't the type to be shy about showing off his body. "He's with Fierezza and Leviathon right now. Aira was pissed that we didn't capture Nameless, so I thought it best to keep your toy away from her. What about the apostle and her lap dog of a Devil?"

"As expected, they escaped, but the city is now closed to them. When will our little fly know where they are?" Aion had found the paper bag with his clothing in it and was pulling them back on as the spoke. His white shirt was stained crimson and bore holes from where the bullets tore through and the white pants were a little dirty from the pavement and smoke.

Volupte studied her nails, continuing without even looking up. "Soon, I should think. Be patient. Don't let your excitement over facing your old nemesis blind you to what needs to be done. We need to start the preparations for phase two in the plan. Alimento, Belphagor and Mammon are already working on their parts."

"Wonderful! I'm famished. Do we have time for a quick bite?"

Smiling, she pushed away from the drawers she was leaning on and led the way back out of the morgue and through the masses screaming and moaning still in the hospital. "I suppose we could stop for something on the way back. Joshua and Belthagor will probably be hungry, too. May I ask what you could possibly want with such an old human?"

Aion's smile turned ice cold as he pushed his glasses up further on his nose. "I have something very special planned for Joshua Christopher. You'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

"Paris is the city of love, truth, beauty, art... SO WHY ARE WE STUCK INSIDE WHEN WE COULD BE OUT THERE?"

Chrono dropped his load of dusty old books onto the long table and slumped into his chair with a huff, blowing pieces of hair straight up into the air. Crimson eyes rolled over to where a certain blonde was plastered to the glass on the second floor of the _Biblioteque du Monde_ that was attached to the British Embacy building. They were supposed to be doing research on Chicago. Rosette was more intent on staring out over the beautiful Parisian landscape and wishing she was out there exploring it.

"Maybe if we BOTH took a look at these books we could get out of here faster," Chrono suggested softly. They WERE in a library after all, and talking loudly wasn't permitted.

Whimpering, Rosette trudged back over to the table, flopping down in the chair next to Chrono and settling her head on a stack of books. "Aww... why do we get stuck doing this while those three are out walking around?"

He didn't feel the need to remind her (for the third time) that the other three were out getting some basic supplies to last them for a few days. With a suspected spy still at the mansion, it wasn't safe to return right away, so Asmodius was taking them out for bullets, guns, food, clothing... the basics. Instead, he flipped open an enormous book, grimacing when the cover thudded heavily against the table.

"Shh!" The librarian hissed from her desk, glaring at them. Rosette rolled her eyes, twiddling a pencil around in her hand as she grabbed a much smaller book and began thumbing through it.

The only sounds to break the absolute silence were the pages turning, the clock ticking monotonously... and the sounds of people outside. At especially long bursts of laughter, Rosette would glance up wistfully before returning to her work with and even bigger pout.

After the fifth time of this happening, Chrono finally closed his book, propping his chin on his hand and staring out the window with her. He actually wouldn't mind getting out there, either. The last time he'd been in Paris was during the French Revolution, so he didn't really get the true experience. And, like Rosette said, it _was_ the city of love. Maybe the right opportunity would pop up and he could...

Decision made, he stood with a great pile of books. "Come on, let's get out of here."

"Huh?" Rosette whirled back around, eyes a little wide and guilty looking. They quickly went confused when she noticed him holding his books.

"We've got library cards here, right? So let's check these books out, drop them off at the house and go out for a bit. We can always look at these later tonight."

Rosette didn't need any further encouraging and practically sprinted to the front desk and the glaring librarian. They got a cart to put all their books on, Chrono pulling it behind Rosette as she talked about all the things she wanted to do in one day. He was too busy feeling nervous about telling her how he felt, even if he was pretty sure she felt the same way. Thousands of years of living... and he still got sick to his stomach talking to girls!

On the way back, they passed by a small clothing store that Rosette immediately stopped in. Asmodius had given them a plastic card (it was like money, is what he told them) and said to look for anyplace that had the name of the card on it and they could use it there. This place did, and the half-breed was about to learn you did NOT give Rosette money without limitations as to what she could spend it on. Granted, she'd probably sneak other stuff in anyway, but Asmodius hadn't given them any rules at all.

"Rosette, I don't think this is what Asmodius had in mind," he said tentatively as she held a long, flowy blue skirt up to herself in the mirror.

"Oh, dry up! He never said we COULDN'T either, did he? And besides, snuggums, don't you want me looking nice for our date?" She flashed him a brilliant smile, batting her lashes comically in his direction.

Chrono smiled back, shaking his head. Honestly, she was just too much sometimes! He was about to settle into a chair with their stack of books next to him when Rosette yanked him to his feet, scowling. "Hey, what're you- oof!"

Rosette started throwing clothing for him to try on into his arms. "Did you take a look at yourself? I'm not walking around with a flat tire all nigh. Get in there and don't come back out until you look nice!"

Chrono stumbled into the fitting room, tripped over a shirt sleeve and sprawled on the floor, clothing scattered all over himself and the room. The two sales clerks were jabbering wildly in French, but he could barely understand them because of how the language had shifted since the last time he'd used it. He knew they were complaining about 'pig Americans' though.

"CHRONO!"

"Don't yell at me, you're the one who shoved!"

Scowling, Rosette slammed the door shut and called in, "Will you hurry UP in there already? We're wasting time and we've got so much to do!"

Chrono shot a glare at the door before doing the quick method of trying stuff on; he held the shirts up in front of him, decided he liked the burnt orange t-shirt with the white dress shirt over it, pulled the dark jeans up over his as far as he could and then walked out with his items... only to stop dead when he saw Rosette. She was wearing the blue skirt now and even bought some comfy looking beaded slipper shoes to go with it, a VERY tight white top with thin straps and a blue jean jacket. The skirt was just a little transparant and he could see the gun strapped to her thigh if he looked really hard... which he told himseld he wasn't doing anyway!

Rosette looked over at him, frowning when she noticed he wasn't wearing his new clothing. "Get back in there and change! Stop wasting time!"

"Alright, alright..." He trudged back into the fitting room mumbling about bossy girls, and did as she asked, coming back out with his old clothing, which the women at the counter put into a bag for them.

"_Merci beacoup_," Chrono called back, which earned him tight smiles from the ladies. He looped the bag with their old clothing over his shoulder and began to haul the books back to the house once more.

"I didn't know you spoke French," Rosette commented, nudging him with her elbow.

"Oh... just a little. It's changed a lot, though," he answered, shifting the bag to a better position on his back.

"Yeah, well it's more than I can speak." Chrono jumped when she dug into his back pocket and pulled out the key to the house. Asmodius had given them all copies before they'd gone out.

"ROSETTE!"

"It's jake, I've got it," she called back, laughing as she opened the door. "Jeeze, you can't open the door AND lug all that stuff in, can you?"

That wasn't why he'd jumped or why he'd shouted her name. It was the fact she didn't know what she did to him... and then did something like THAT! Cheeks burning, Chrono carefully kept his head lowered, hair hiding his face completely from her as he pulled the books just inside the door way and off to one side so no one tripped over them, putting the bag with their clothing on top. Rosette was tapping her foot impatiently, glancing outside to the sun just beginning to set. "Come on! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"I'm done, I'm done!" he exclaimed, quickly saving himself from falling as she shoved him out the door and locked it again before handing him the key.

Grinning, Rosette grabbed his hand and started running down to the river Seine that split the city nearly in half. "Let's take the river ferry tour and go to the Eiffel Tower!"

Answering her grin with one of his own, Chrono ran behind her through the tourist ladened streets. Yes, tonight for sure he would tell her how he felt!

* * *

"They LEFT?" Tegan shouted, staring at the stack of books sitting by the door. All the weapons had been dropped off in her room to be mdified as quickly as possible, but when they'd discovered the house was empty, the necromancer went into a fit. "I certainly hope they don't think WE'RE going to be reading all this!"

"I'm sure they just wanted to see the city," Remington soothed, sharing a little amused glance with Asmodius, who was at the bar in the small den pouring out three glasses. "After all, this is one of the main attractions in Europe. Let them have a little fun tonight. I can promise you Rosette will return ready for work... tomorrow morning."

"TOMORROW!"

Asmodius quickly turned a chuckle into a cough before handing the enraged necromancer her vodka and cranberry juice. "It's alright, Tegan. This could actually be beneficial to us."

"Oh, really? And how do you figure that?" she snapped, sipping her drink and arching one brow in his direction.

"You've not noticed it? I'm rather surprised..."

Her glare got even darker as she slammed her glass onto the table. "Don't play coy with me, Asmodius Hendric! No, I've not noticed anything other than the fact that we have seven of the most powerful Devils trying to ruin Heaven, Earth and Hell all in one go, and the two we need to help us stop them have run off into the bloody city unsupervised!"

Remington came up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders and forcing her as gently as possible into a chair, fingers rubbing to try and keep her temper down. "Rosette and Chrono... have some things to sort out between them in regards to their relationship," he explained, smiling when her eyes slid to meet his, softening ever so slightly as he continued to massage tight shoulders. Really, if she kept stressing herself like this, she would die by the time she reached thirty from a heart attack!

"What's to sort- oh! I see... so, they really do love each other?" she asked, finally catching on.

Asmodius nodded, still smiling so slightly. "Correct. And with that standing unsaid between them, it could cause some problems down the line. Like taking unecessary risks on the other's behalf, leaving room for doubts. It's the little things that Aion and the Sinners will pick at and make fester just to cause strife in our ranks. And nothing can turn to burning hatred faster than love."

Tegan made a face at that and muttered, "You're telling me."

Taking the whiskey Asmodius passed over to him, Remington sat down, sipping at the srong liquor slowly. "Now then, why don't we follow suite and try to relax for one evening? I'm certain we won't get an opportunity like this again anywhere in the near future."

"Yes, I agree," Asmodius was quick to add in. Remington chuckled as the half-breed pulled the deck of cards he kept inside his coat jacket out, opening the worn pack and shuffling the cards quickly. "Tegan, will you be joining us?"

Sighing, she pulled a chair up to the small table, sipping her drink. "What's the game, gentlemen?"

"Blackjack."

"Then I'm in."

* * *

Rosette laughed when Chrono quickly ran away from the three little girls trying to touch his hair.

"ROSETTE! DO SOMETHING!"

Yeah, right! Watching a Devil as powerful as Chrono running from five year old girls was too amusing. He yelped when one finally caught the end of his braid, squealing in delight and talking rapidly in French. She almost shot ice cream out her mouth as Chrono kept trying to explain to them in broken French that his hair really WAS attached to his head and that it hurt when they pulled on it. She continued to eat her ice cream, sitting on the bench in the _Champes D'Elysee_, looking up and down the tree lined main street of Paris.

It was almost eight o'clock now, and most of the main tourist sights were closed up. They'd gone on the boat tour, been up in the Eiffel Tower, browsed through one wing of the Louvre and had tried to get in to see Notre Dame, but they only allowed a certain number of people in a day and didn't get in. After that, they'd walked around in the artists section, found a funny painting of a Devil that they'd bought, and got some ice cream before coming here to decide on where to eat.

Sighing, she slouched down a little on the bench, smiling as Chrono began to chase the girls. Their parents were sitting across the way from her and were laughing as their children ran screaming from the Devil on their heels. The littlest one ran for her mom, who scooped her up, laughing as the girl continued to giggle and watch her sisters run around. Rosette laughed when the oldest finally turned around and started scolding Chrono crossly, shaking her finger under his nose. Watching him play so innocently with the children almost made her forget just a few hours before they'd been running from the Chicago police.

She shivered at that, tucking the jean jacket more closely around herself. Aion was there. She had no doubt whatsoever the bastard had known they were going to be there. And he had Joshua again! She didn't care how old he was, or that he didn't remember anything about them, he was still her brother and she'd do anything necessary to save him. They'd been robbed of their time together. The least she could do was be there for him in the end.

Rosette looked up when Chrono ducked down enough to put them on eye level. "Hellooo, earth to Rosette! Sophie has something for you."

"Huh?" Who was Sophie? Oh... the middle child. She smiled as the tiny girl handed her a bright yellow and white daisy. "Thanks. I mean, _merci_." She'd picked up THAT much at any rate.

"_Ma mama parles est pour le belle mademoiselle. Ma nouveux frere es amoures pour tu!"_

She glanced up as Chrono suddenly seemed to have a coughing fit, his cheeks burning bright. "What'd she just say?" she asked. It had to be something embarassing for him to act like that.

"Uh... nothing. Just that her mother wanted the beautiful lady to have a flower. That's all," he said quickly. A little TOO quickly in her opinion.

"Uh-huh. What's the rest of it?"

"It's nothing, I swear! Look... there's a cafe down that way. Wanna get something before finding a place to eat?"

Eyes narrowing suspiciously, Rosette stood up, smiling at the little girl before breaking the stem of the daisy shorter and tucking it back into one of her pig tails. The little girl giggled before running back to her parents, who waved them on as they walked. Chrono was trying to change the subject. Fine, she'd just pester him later on it. As they walked, their hands brushed a little, making her blush slightly and unable to look at him.

The words of the incubus came back to her again, nagging at the feelings raging around inside her. She loved Chrono. She really did, but... he was a Devil, and Devil's didn't feel love. Did they? Yeah, Chrono was a lot different than any other Devil she'd ever met, but he was still a Devil. Maybe, the incubus had been right. Maybe she WAS just a soul to him. He could care about her in that sense. After all, without her, he wouldn't...

Her thoughts trailed off when hesitant fingers found hers, this time intentionally, claws scraping lightly across her hand. Her eyes widened and she stiffened in shock before she could stop herself. Chrono... was holding her hand.

"Sorry," he mumbled before pulling away quickly.

Rosette grabbed his hand back, smiling at the surprise on his face as he looked that slight inch up at her. "It's jake. So, this cafe we're going to. Is it any good?"

"I don't know. It's one of the oldest ones in Paris, though. Apparently it was set up as a headquarters for the French Revolution."

"No kidding? Wow, everything looks so clean and pretty. It's kinda hard to imagine it as being that old."

Chrono laughed, hand tightening around hers more firmly. "Yeah, it's pretty nifty."

Rosette continued to glance at him out of the corner of her eye, knowing he was doing the same thing. If she only knew for certain... sometimes it seemed like he cared for her a whole lot. Like when they'd disappeared for those last six months. He could have moved on, made a new contract with another human and not been dragged into Hell with her. But he didn't. He stayed right with her. And even in Hell, he suffered beside her and always had a smile for her when she could open her eyes and see it.

Grr... she was making herself batty with all this runaround! What did it matter anyway if he loved her or not? They were in this together, just like before. Come Hell or high water, they were stuck with each other. Love wasn't something they needed.

"Here you go, Rosette. Got you something sweet."

Rosette blinked, glancing around in bewilderment when she realized they were in the coffee shop and that Chrono had ordered, paid and received their drinks while she'd spaced out. He was smart and had gotten her something that looked chocolatey with lots of whipped cream and sprinkles. And coffee. "You know this is gonna keep me up all night," she commented as she sucked it up through the straw. It tasted really good, though!

"I know. But we've got all those books to go through, right? So, we're both gonna be up all night anyway," he replied with a grin.

"Good point. So, where are we gonna- oh, look, Chrono!" She ran out into the middle of the walkway, pointing up into the sky as fireworks exploded, glittering like Christmas lights as they fell through the air.

"Wow! Hey, look at that one! It's shaped like a star!"

Rosette laughed at Chrono's delight, 'ooing' as a bright white one lit up the sky and fizzled out into a purple color. Fireworks sure were different nowadays, too! Chrono took her hand again and pulled her over to a bench to watch the show, both of them slouching down enough to see the brilliant bursts of light from under the tree hanging over them.

Several minutes passed in which neither of them spoke, both content to just watch the show. Every once in a while, Rosette would sneak a peek at Chrono's face, watching the different play of colors show against his skin, reflect back in his eyes. Her stomach was all fluttery again, and it had everything to do with how close they were sitting, how his hand was warm and solid against hers. She blushed, jumping a little when he noticed her watching and turned slightly to face her.

That same intenseness from before came to his eyes, the same awed reverence and that other thing she didn't know. It was the one that looked like he was ready to devour her at any minute. And was it just her or was she drifting closer to him? Her lips parted slightly, eyes half closed as she tilted her head. Her heart was beating wildly and her stomach was flipping over and over again. Was he going to...

"Rosette... I have something I want to tell you," he said softly, his breath touching her lips and causing her to shiver. One of his arms moved around her shoulders, fingers playing with the ends of her hair. Please, please, PLEASE...

"Yes, Chrono?" She could almost feel his mouth on hers, taste him for the first time. She was torn between listening to what he wanted to say and just full out laying it on him.

"Well, you see... I just wanted to say that... that I-," He was so close... so, so close. She turned herself into him better, one of her hands resting on his knee.

Both of them jumped, gasping when someone bumped into them, spilling their coffee drinks all over them both.

"_Pardon! Excuse moi!"_

Rosette glared as the man on the funny roller skates continued off quickly. So much for the city of love. If she ever saw that man again, he was gonna be beaten up for this!

"Rosette... your new skirt's ruined! I'm sorry." Chrono began trying to wipe it off with the sleeve of his own ruined shirt, not realizing until it was too late that he was putting his hands on her thighs... waaaay high up on her thighs. Both of their cheeks were red, but only one of them was embarassed. And it wasn't Rosette. "OH! Ah... hehe... sorry!"

"CHRONO! You little pervert!" She smacked him so hard with her purse he went flying over the other side of the bench.

"Unh... did you have to hit me so hard?" he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Yeah, right! Is the big, tough Devil really hurt by an itty bitty little purse?" she mocked, even as she gave him a hand up.

Pouting and rubbing his head, he said, "It DID hurt. Your purse isn't exactly light, you know."

Still angry at the interuption, Rosette got as much of the stuff off as she could before letting out a heavy sigh. "I guess we should go get outta these duds, huh?"

"Yes... I guess we should."

The walk back was in total silence, with neither one looking at each other or even standing close enough to touch. And, once again, she was left wondering if maybe they had something more in their relationship. After all, it DID seem like he was about to kiss her... until that idiot on wheels showed up. Paris was so stupid!

* * *

AUTHOR'S EVIL LAUGHTER: MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


	11. The Nameless One

CHAPTER 11: The Nameless One

"Turn that goddamn TV off!"

"Don't really wanna, darlin'!"

The TV exploded in a wash of black flame. Aira, the Sinner of Anger, had returned from scouring all of Chicago for Nameless. They had to find that bastard, find out how much he truly knew of their plans, before he spoke to that blood traitor Chrono. She was tired, she was angry, and she didn't appreciate the others sitting on their asses while she did all the work. Screw Volupte and what she'd told them! Did she honestly think SHE was in charge? Green eyes snapping, red hair fying out behind her, she stalked over to the couch, a ball of hellfire held in her hand threateningly. "Get up!"

Leviathon, the Sinner of Envy, grumbled as he got off the couch, giving her a sulky glare. "Why am I always the one gettin' hellfire tossed at my ass?" he mumbled, voice thick with a heavy Southern accent. "I mean, y'all act like I'm just a kid or somethin'. Why do I always get stuck doin' all the babysittin' while y'all go out an' have a little fun?"

"FUN? YOU CALL SEARCHING ALL OF CHICAGO, FROM SKYSCRAPERS TO SEWERS, FUN?" Aira screamed, kicking the now vacant couch over. The old human in the wheel chair next to the couch flinched a little. She could feel his fear of her as plainly as a second heartbeat, but he was incapable of putting words to that fear, only inarticulate sounds. Old humans were worse than useless!

"Oh, I thought I heard Aira's screams," another woman said in a bored tone. Fierezza strolled in, her long blonde hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail, and she continued file her claws into elegantly tapered points, not really paying attention to the 'conversation'.

"And where in Satan's name have YOU been all this time?" Aira continued, whirling on the other woman fiercely.

Fierezza rolled her big lavender eyes and said, "Please, why should I do the work of slaves?"

"WHAT?"

"You heard me, Aira. It's your own fault you got stuck with search duty. After all, _I_ wasn't about to dirty my hands with it."

"You're acting more like the Sinner of Sloth than of Pride," Aira spat back out.

Fierezza's eyes snapped, the violet color streaking through with bluish bolts of lightening. "And you're behaving like a child. I had better things to do than go trapsing through human sewage!"

"I wish _I_ had important things to do," Leviathon grumbled. He was petting the human again, running sharp claws back through frail silver-white hair, grinning wide enough to show fangs at the frightened sounds coming from that wrinkled throat. "Hey, whaddy'all think would happen if Aion came home and his new puppy was dead from a heart attack?"

"Oh, do let me answer that," Aion's voice said from the doorway. Leviathon hissed when a pale, clawed hand closed over his wrist, easily breaking through the skin to spill dark blood drops everywhere, showering the human, the carpet... Fierezza's new dress.

"You IDIOT! This was designed especially for ME, and you ruined it," she screamed, staring in horror at the crimson stains on the white silk lace. "Do you have any idea how much this lace costs?"

Aion ignored her, still smiling but with a lethal gleam to his eyes as he force Leviathon to his knees. "For the future, Leviathon, don't touch my property."

Leviathon nodded numbly, wincing as Aion gave his wrist a final squeeze before releasing it. As the youngest of the Seven, he was also the weakest and thus always picked on. "It's not fair," he complained. "Everyone else gets away with touchin' him and makin' him scared. Why'm I the only one who gets his wrist all cut up?"

"Levi, get up and heal yourself," Volupte called from the kitchen, opening a bottle of red wine. "Joshua belongs to Aion, and Aion doesn't like you touching him. Simple as that."

"So, is that the Queen of Sinners' final say?" Aira snapped nastily.

Volupte swirled her wine around, her eyes going solid red as she pinned the Sinner of Anger with a hard glare. "The only one giving me that title is you, Aira. Are you suggesting you're my servant?"

"I am NO ONE'S servant!"

"Then have a care what you say and to whom. We're in this together, no one ruling more than another. Or did you forget that?"

Aira bristled and, letting out a low growl of anger, she stomped away, thin boot heels stabbing into the soft wood floor hard enough to dent it.

Fierezza rolled her eyes again, taking the glass Volupte handed to her. "And as if I'd tolerate you as a queen anyway," she muttered, casting one final glare at the slammed door.

"How was Joshua?" Aion asked, kneeling in front of the human and dabbing away the spittle dripping from his chin with a handkerchief in very gentle motions. It was almost as if he cared for the human.

"About as good as a dying human can be. Personally, Aion, I don't get your obsession with this one. If it were me, I wouldn't be caught in Heaven with a human that decrepid," Fierezza commented.

"I just wanna human of m'own," Leviathon said, righting the couch and flopping on it again, scratching claws through his short, dark blue hair.

Aion wasn't paying attention to any of them now, all consentration on Joshua's watery blue eyes. He smiled , running a single claw down that wrinkled cheek. No recognition in those eyes at all, no sign that the Joshua from before still existed. Aion knew those memories were locked away inside that feeble mind, locked behind a curtain of ignorance. He knew Joshua had never recovered from the time before. He knew the boy had no memory of his life, his deeds... his sister. But, what existed before had to exist there now. All he had to do was unlock it just a little...

"Joshua, do you remember me?" he asked softly. The only flicker from those pale blue eyes was when his name was said. Mumbled sounds came from dry lips, no words, but it was obvious Joshua was trying to say he didn't. "Oh, we used to have such fun together. We traveled the world, you and I, just like you'd always wanted. Milan, Tokyo, Buenos Aires. San Fransisco." There was another flicker. San Fransisco struck something, made Joshua think.

Aion laughed, placing both his hands so that he was cupping Joshua's face, forcing him to maintain eye contact. "You remember San Fransisco, don't you? The house on the ocean?" A slight nod. Joshua's eyes were wide, getting a little panicked. The frail heart was speeding up, getting ready to burst as memories began to come back.

"And what about Rosette?" he whispered, smile widening when Joshua's eyes went completely panic stricken and he let out a choked scream. Rosette was the key. Her name triggered the full out remembrance Aion wanted, flooding Joshua with all that had happened from before. The heart was racing, skipping every other beat as the delicate body so near to death struggled to handle this sensory overload.

"You remember now, don't you, Joshua? Your lovely sister, the one who disappeared and never once sought you out when it all ended. Did you see her at all in the years that followed? No, you don't need to answer, I already know. She spent her time with Chrono instead of her brother. Such is family."

Joshua's breathing became more ragged, tears fell from his eyes and little whimpers came from his lips. Aion didn't need to hear his voice or read his thoughts to know that his words had struck the boy hard. Why hadn't Rosette tried to find him? Why was she always with Chrono? Why didn't she FIND HIM? After all the time lost between them, why was Chrono more important than him? The Sinners remained silent, watching as Aion planted these seeds of bitterness in Joshua's soul.

Leaning forward, lips very close to Joshua's ear, Aion whispered, "And what if I told you your sister was still alive? That she'd made a deal with Chrono the Devil, her soul for immortality? What if I told you she was still here, eternally youthful... and she still didn't seek you out?"

That was the breaking point. The anger boiled off that old, limp body, seething with bitterness and regret. How could she do that? Why would she do that and not take him? They were supposed to be TOGETHER! It wasn't fair, it wasn't right... it was all because of Chrono! He's the one who got between them and drove them apart! He'd known from the start Chrono was fascinated by Rosette. He should have known that the Devil would put a claim on her soul! Rosette, young and forever like she was, while he was this brittle husk, barely able to open his mouth and accept food. He wanted that time back. He wanted the life he could have had given back to him. He wanted HIS Rosette back!

Aion drew back, still smiling. "I understand, Joshua, I really do. So much was taken from you, so much pain caused... and all without you truly knowing it. It's not fair and it's not right. Chrono has your sister, and that's not right. She's not his, he has no right to her. YOU do. She's your blood, your only family. Don't you think she would have come to see you right away if it weren't for her Devil master? Chrono is the reason you two didn't have time together."

Yes... Chrono. Chrono was always between them, always there to take his sister. It was Chrono's fault that he never had his sister! Hatred for the Devil he once called a friend swelled within him.

And that was the final nail in the coffin. Aion slid a clawed hand under Joshua's heavy jaw, forcing their gazes to lock again. "Let me help you, Joshua. Let me help you like I once did. Let me be the one to give you back that time, to bring you and your sister together again. You do remember that it was I who arranged for it before, don't you? I made the pain stop, I gave you the world to play in. I brought your sister to you. Let me help you bring her back, Joshua. All I ask in exchange is your soul, so close to dying that it's almost useless anyway. Your soul... for your Rosette. It's a fair trade, isn't it?"

The slight nod was all the permission he needed.

* * *

Mammon sipped his dry cappuccino slowly, silvery eyes narrowing. The Sinner of Greed, unlike is much heavier partner for the evening, was a very patient Devil. Alimento continued to stuff canoli into his mouth, not bothering to chew more than was necessary to swallow. Sighing, Mamon checked his Rolex and diamond watch for the third time. Their informant was late. While he had the patience of a saint (he shuddered to use that turn of phrase), punctuality was something he put high stock in. "We'll wait another twenty minutes, Alimento, then we must return to Chicago and resume our search for Nameless."

"Oh, that's too bad," Alimento said sadly, burping as quietly as he could. "It's been ages since I've had canoli this good!"

"It's been ages since you've been to Italy, my friend. I wish we could spend more time here." Mammon stared wistfully out the cafe window at the Venice landscape. With the exception of the Vatican, Italy was his most favorite place to frequent. A pity the Catholics had to sully it by placing their capitol here.

"Say, you think we can stop off in Germany on the way back? I'd loooove to get some schnitzle."

"As much as I'd love to, we can't. We've got work to do, Alimento, and unfortunately it leaves little time for touring the new Europe. Once the plan is completed, perhaps we can."

Alimento grinned as he shoved another canoli into his wide mouth, licking his lips. The waitress was bringing out the tray of tiramisu that he'd ordered not too long ago, leaving a fresh fork on the side as well as a freshly made cappuccino for Mammon.

Ten more minutes passed before the informant finally showed up, taking a seat across from them.

"You're late," Mammon said coldly, watching the flinch cross their features.

"I couldn't get away."

"Where are they?"

"Paris."

"And?"

The informant shook their head. "No, the marriage has not been consumated as far as I'm aware."

Mammon pressed his fingertips together, leaning back in his chair and shaking his long dark hair back. "It's not incredibly difficult to figure out why Chicago is necessary. Neither Rosette Christopher or Chrono the Sinner are entirely stupid. So you can appreciate our anxiety over this matter, I'm sure."

"I know! It's not a true marriage unless they become one body as well, I know this! But... it's not as if I can just outright ask about it."

Mammon lunged out, grabbing the informant's throat. He didn't like the tone used and felt a reminder of what exactly he was capable of was in order. "Do not speak to me in such an uncivil manner." Eyes widened a little in fear, pleasing Mammon no end. Once satisfied that the informant was sufficiently cowed, he released the throat and sat back again, ignoring the startled looks from the wait staff. "No more excuses, find a way to know for certain. Now, Nameless escaped the fires. We suspect he's going to try and make contact with Sinner Chrono very soon. See what you can do about stopping this meeting from occuring. Capture Nameless or kill him."

"As you wish."

"You've done very well so far. Just remember your reward in the end. And never forget Aira would give anything to use your guts for garters."

The informant nodded and rose. "I'll contact you when I have new information."

"Yes, you will," Mammon said quietly, sipping his cappuccino and watching as the informant left the coffee house quickly.

Alimento finished licking the tray clean, wiping the crumbs from his face. "So, what're you thinking, Mammon?"

Smiling, Mammon slid his gaze over to the Sinner of Gluttony and said, "I'm thinking Volupte should make a trip to Paris. She does love this city so."

Alimento grinned, espresso and cake bits clinging to his teeth. "There's a little restaurant that makes the best lamb roast. Maybe I should go along with her."

"No, Belphegor should. He's been too lazy for this whole thing."

"He's the Sinner of Sloth. He's SUPPOSED to be lazy!"

"Yes, but even for the Sinner of Sloth, he's entirely too lazy. Are you about finished? I'm sure Volupte and Aion brought food back."

Alimento was up and moving for the door before Mammon could even stand up.

* * *

Rosette blinked in the dull grey of early morning, looking down at the arm draped across her waist. That weird dream came back to her, the one she'd been having for a while. It was almost always the same and she'd been having it since before she'd died. It was always Chrono, always at night, and always with him leaning down to kiss her cheek or her forehead gently. Sometimes he looked happy, other times he looked so sad. Stupid dream! She wished it would go away and stop tormenting her. _Like that would ever happen for real. Dreams like that are so pointless..._

They'd gotten back around eleven or so and... started reading. A map of Chicago was spread out on the floor in Chrono's room, scattered pages of notes and theories all around it. Almost four hours of non stop research and they STILL had no idea what the Seven Sinners could possibly want with the city. Rosette rolled over to look at her partner in crime. She pushed dark violet-black hair away from his cheek, trailing fingertips down his tanned skin. Her eyes narrowed when she saw his lips twitch, fighting a smile.

"That kinda tickles," he said sleepily, opening crimson eyes still blurry from having been woken up.

"You lousy rat! You weren't asleep at all!" Rosette grabbed hold of his cheek and pulled hard, stretching his face out.

"Shtop, Roshette! That hurtsh," Chrono complained, grabbing her wrist and forcing her fingers free from his cheek. He pinned her wrist over her head, grinning as she wrestled around, squirming to break free.

Rosette laughed, grabbing a pillow and smacking him with it. "Ha! Take that... and that... and this!"

Chrono was laughing, too, that is until his claws tore through the pillow, feathers exploding everywhere around the room. Both of them froze at the mess, cringing as the feathers continued to float down around them. Rosette was stretched on her back under Chrono, who had one thigh between both of her legs, one hand closed around her wrist to keep her fist from swinging up into him. She stopped watching the feathers, looking up into crimson eyes just mere inches from hers... and her heart sped up, her stomach going all queasy.

Chrono looked down at her when he noticed the change, cheeks turning a little pink as he noticed their closeness. Laughing nervously, he let her wrist go. "Oh, uh... hehe... sorry, Rosette." He still didn't get off her though. And, she didn't mind at all.

Rosette reached up to pluck a feather from his hair, watching as his eyes closed partially, an almost pained look coming to his face. Her mind wandered back over the night before, to the fireworks and how she thought he'd been about to... "Hey, Chrono?" she asked softly, a little surprised that her voice wasn't working so great.

"Um... yes?" His eyes came back open, but his lips were parted and his breathing was a little faster. And when did she decide to forget picking the feather out of his hair in favor of touching his cheek, resting her palm against his warm skin?

"Yesterday, you said you had something to tell me?" Maybe he DID love her. If he didn't, why else would he look so... she didn't know what to call it other than 'hungry'. Yeah, it wasn't exactly accurate, but it was the closest comparison she could make. She'd never heard anything about Devils eating people before...

"Well, it's sort of... complicated. I guess," he began. "I've wanted to say it for a long time, but... well..."

Rosette's breath caught in her chest, eyes dropping to his lips then back to his partially closed eyes, as Chrono slowly inched downward. There was definately a kiss coming. No doubt about it. She leaned upward a little, eyes closing completely. His name escaped from her lips, just the barest whisper of sound.

Something tickled across her nose. Rosette's eyes flew open in time to see the feather that had been stuck in his hair float from her face to the ground. The only warning she had was the itching sensation in her nose before... "ACHOO!"

"GAH! Ew, GROSS!" Chrono dove off of her, wiping his face on his sleeve. "You sneezed right in my face!"

Rosette scowled and shoved him off the bed with her foot. "It's not MY fault you were waaaay too close to be decent! Maybe you should have been named Chrono the Pervert instead!"

Chrono glared back from his spot on the floor, puffing a breath up to keep a feather from landing on him. Falling to the floor had disturbed the feathers again, making a few rise back into the air. And drawing her attention to something she hadn't noticed the night before. "Yes, well- hey! OW! Rosette, why'd you step on-,"

"Shut up, Chrono!" Rosette frowned, studying the map again. The feathers had fallen onto the map as well, but she wasn't concerned with the mess. What had gotten her attention (and also gotten her to trample that dirty Devil) was how a few of the feathers had landed. "Chrono, can you read that building statistic sheet again?" She found a pen from the mess, putting dots on the buildings marked in green. She was pretty sure they were green...

Chrono shuffled through their notes as she continued to mark away. "Um... here we go! 'Since Chicago is done in a massive layout, to make reading the map easier, certain public buildings have been color coded. Government buildings are red, cultural are blue, emergency in yellow, and all churches in green. You will notice in examining the map that there's... a lot of... green. Rosette, let me see!" He'd obviously caught on.

Rosette continued to mark out the dots on the map. "How many churches did it say again?" she asked, sticking her tongue out as she concentrated.

"Three hundred and seventy-eight. That's a lot of churches."

"Uh-huh. And most churches have a holy relic buried under the alter, which means-,"

"-That Chicago has the largest amount of holy energy outside of the Vatican," Chrono finished for her, picking up a pen to help her mark the points.

"Bingo! But, the difference is, the Vatican's holy energy is gathered into one big space, so the Seven Sinners can't go near it without ka-booming all over. The churches in Chicago are all spread out, which means they can enter that city and not have the wrath of God strike 'em down."

"Holy smokes, Rosette, do you see what I see?" Chrono exclaimed. He'd started connecting all the various dots together, hand shaking a little.

"Yes! The feathers landed kind of on the lines, which made me think..." Rosette finished connecting the final lines, sitting back with a proud grin on her face. Chrono was still gaping at the map in a mixture of surprise and horror. When all the lines were connected, all three hundred and seventy-eight churches formed a pentagram, the long standing symbol of Hell.

"Heaven and Hell combined in one spot," Chrono whispered. "That's why the Seven wanted us out of Chicago. The city combines all three worlds in one go! Rosette, do you know what this-,"

The room suddenly began to shake, the sunlight disappearing behind midnight black clouds. Rosette pulled the gun from off the dresser, clicking the safety off as she backed away, slowly turning a circle in the room. Chrono's back was pressed to hers, his entire body tense. "Rosette... break the seal," he hissed out.

"Is it bad?" she asked.

"Yes. Whatever it is has so much power... your gun won't do anything against this."

Rosette clicked the seal of the watch open, gasping a little as Chrono's burning energy flooded the room. The wind from his power kicked up the papers, tossing them around in a whirlwing of black and red flame.

"Stay close to me, Rosette," Chrono's voice growled, one clawed hand reaching around to press against her side, keeping her in contact.

The darkness seemed to concentrate itself in the room, filling the air with a heaviness that made her gag. The flames surrounding them started to fade away, smothered by this inky darkness. A white figure began to emerge, dressed entirely in tight black leather. "CHRONO!" Rosette whipped around and started to fire at that figure, watching as the bullets simply disintegrated in the air. The Devil still came toward them, skin pale to the point of being almost white, lips thin and a little pink, hair long and white, pulled back in a tight ponytail that twisted about in the air like a wisp of smoke. And his eyes... they were an empty white, like the Devil was blind.

The shaking suddenly stopped, everything still and silent and... frozen. The papers remained fixed in the air, the remaining flames locked and unflickering around them. Everything had been stopped, except for the three of them.

"Kinslayer. It's been a while," the Devil's voice called out, melodious and beautiful... but carrying a deadly ring to it.

"Chrono, who is this guy?" Rosette whispered, still keeping her gun aimed on the Devil.

A hand covered in red and black leather closed around the barrel of her gun. Rosette's gaze flickered over to Chrono, widening when Chrono sank to one knee, wings trailing on the ground. "My lord, it's an honor to be in your presence once again," he said humbly.

Rosette's gaping gaze slid over to the amused chuckle from the white Devil. "I'm glad to see your manners have not diminished over the centuries, Kinslayer," he replied. His empty eyes slid to Rosette, making her back stiffen. She could see... things... in his eyes. Like looking in a mirror, or seeing a dream played out for her. She could see buildings falling, fires raging, Devils rampaging, Angels fighting... all of this in random, quick flashes, there and gone again so fast only to be replaced by another image before she could finish processing what she'd seen last.

"And you must be his contractor, Rosette Christopher. The Apostle condemned to Hell. The wedded wife to a Devil. The Slayer of Hellspawn. How nice to finally put a face to the reputation. Your manners are lacking. Have you no respect for your betters?"

Rosette's answer to this was to empty almost an entire clip right at the Devil's chest. Except, his chest wasn't there anymore. He'd moved quicker than she could see, quicker than the bullets could touch. One minute he was standing in front of her, the next she was shoved backward as Chrono dove to intercept the Devil plunging toward her.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!"

The Devil almost seemed to disappear, reappearing in front of the black window as Chrono fell forward, caught off guard by the movement not even he could follow. "I see those rumors are true as well. How unexpected in someone who murdered his own brothers and sisters. Your contractor must be an intriguing creature."

"You'll never know for certain, my lord," Chrono snarled, still crouched on the floor, but ready to spring into action if needed. Rosette looked over to where her gun had skittered across the floor. It was too far away to grab, but maybe if Chrono distracted him...

"Even while threatening me, Kinslayer, you remain polite. It's more than I can say for those disrespectful heathens who burned my clubs to the ground." The Devil gave an irritated little sigh before glancing over his shoulder at them. "Now, to business. We have only an hour to talk, so allow me to explain the rules. I cannot tell you the future, nor can I answer questions that will change any decisions for the future. I can confirm or disprove any theories you have and offer advise to help you along the way. So, having said all that, you may proceed."

"Thank you, my lord," Chrono acknowledged, standing to his full height.

"And will you continue to be rude, contractor, or do I receive your thanks as well?"

"I'll thank you as soon as you tell me who the heck you are," Rosette snapped.

The Devil turned around slowly, settling that dreamlike gaze on her again and taking a step closer. Chrono put a protective hand out, ready to push her behind him if necessary. "I... have no name. Or, rather, I have no name that I can recall. I am the Nameless One, or Nameless for short, if you prefer."

The Nameless One... Chrono had mentioned him right before Chicago. "So... you're supposed to be the guy who knows everything about Hell?"

Nameless gave that soft laugh again. "You sound disappointed, contractor."

"Well... yeah. Sorry, but you're not exactly what I was expecting."

"Were you expecting fire and brimstone to fall in my wake, men and women throwing themselves out of windows in despair, animals turning on each other and their owners in a fit of madness?" For each of these scenarios, the different images flashed through his eyes, each one getting more terrifying than the last.

Rosette swallowed passed the lump of fear in her throat and said, "Something like that."

Instantly, the images stopped and Nameless gave her a smile wide enough to show his fangs. "What a truly wonderful child you have, Kinslayer. I'm quite envious of her, really. Unfortunately, contractor, this is me and all that I am. Believe it or not, I _am_ the Nameless One, the Knowledge and the Seer of Hell. And, I'm here to help you. The hour begins when you ask your first question, but ask wisely as our time is very precious."

There was one question above all others that she wanted to ask. Forget saving the world, forget finding the Seven Sinners, forget everything except... "Joshua. What's happened to Joshua?"

Nameless smiled slowly and prepared to answer.


	12. The Catacombs

AUTHOR'S NOTE: SLIGHTLY Mature chapter. Just so we're all clear. Yeah. You may continue reading now. No, not the AN, the story! Stop reading this stupid Slightly Mature Content Warning and start reading the story! I'M SERIOUS! Oh, and one more thing... there's probably only about three to four more chapters left. Sorry. Also, this chapter is dedicated to Luthien-Ikare. Why? Because she's made some super fantastic fanart for it, that's why! Check it out on deviant art!

* * *

The Catacombs

"Joshua," Nameless began, waving a hand idly through the darkness. It began to concentrate and turn more solid, forming a chair for the Devil to sit in. "Was taken by Aion. He's alive and well considering the circumstances and is being held in the Seven Sinner's house in Chicago."

Rosette let out a sigh of relief, shoulders slumping forward as that weight was lifted from her. Joshua was alive. That was all she wanted to know. She felt Chrono's long, clawed fingers curl over her shoulder, letting her know he was there and understood how important this was to her. Joshua was her brother, no matter what, and she would kill to keep him safe!

"Is there a spy among us?" Chrono asked, taking up the question and answer session for her.

Nameless smiled, long white fangs showing. "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, Kinslayer."

"Can you tell us who it is?"

"No. What I can tell you is that this person was touched by Mammon, the Sinner of Greed."

"Meaning... what?" Rosette asked, her thoughts still reeling from the realization Joshua was alright.

"Meaning, Mammon's influencing the spy's actions through greed," Chrono answered, still keeping one hand on her. She wasn't sure if it was meant to hold her back or what, but it was a little distracting in a way that would have been nicer if it weren't for their uninvited guest.

Nameless crossed a long leg idly over the other, leather creaking as it rubbed against itself. "She has an innocence to her, Kinslayer, that is most appealing. I'm surprised being in your company hasn't marred that. How long has she belonged to you again?"

Chrono's fingers tightened slightly, and when he spoke his voice was a low, threatening growl. "I don't own Rosette. No one does."

The smile on the white Devil's face became mocking as he perched his head on one fist, blank eyes watching them intently. "What a sweet notion, Kinslayer. I could almost believe it. Have no doubt, Chrono, everyone belongs to someone. A world of nothing but masters cannot survive. The same is true for a world of servants. For each dominant, there must be a submissive. It's just the way of things."

"That's the way of your world, my lord. Not mine," Chrono replied. Rosette glanced over her shoulder at him when she felt his hand tremble. She couldn't tell from the carefully empty mask if it was because he was angry or scared. She was hoping it was angry. If Chrono was scared of this Devil, that wasn't good. She REALLY wanted to get her gun back! Even if it wasn't going to do a heap of beans against Nameless, it still made her feel less like a helpless lady in distress.

The smile slipped, turned a little colder. Rosette backed into Chrono a little as Nameless pushed to his feet, seeming suddenly much taller in the small space. "Make no mistake, Kinslayer, though you were banned from Hell for your crimes, you are still a Devil. You cannot fight your nature. Now, I'm very quickly losing my patience. Ask your questions before I change my mind and withdraw my aid!"

"Fine, why are you helping us to begin with?" Rosette asked, retaking that step closer to Nameless. She wasn't scare, she wasn't scared... alright, she was scared stiff of him, but she didn't like him bullying Chrono around like that! Chrono was different than other Devils. She knew that, even as the nagging doubt returned a little. No, she KNEW he was different. That he actually DID care for her. He'd almost kissed her twice in the last two days. That had to say something!

Nameless turned his white eyes to her, meeting her gaze. Rosette refused to look away, and didn't realize until those eyes shifted to Chrono behind her that she'd met his stare... and not been effected by it. No images, to sick feeling. Nothing. How was that possible... "Shielding her from me, Kinslayer? Perhaps I was mistaken. Perhaps she's the master... and you're the servant?"

"Hey, back off! You said we've only got a little time left, and you keep wasting it by trying to pick a fight. Answer my question!" Rosette shouted, getting courage from Chrono loosening his grip on her shoulder a little. _I can take him, if I have to. I'll do everything to protect..._ Wait, those weren't her thoughts! Rosette looked up at Chrono, who was still watching Nameless closely. She was almost positive those were Chrono's thoughts, but whether he knew she'd heard them or not remained a mystery. She couldn't tell from his face, he was so intent on watching Nameless. Scary... hearing Chrono inside her head. Hopefully, that wasn't the case at all and she was just being silly.

"I offer help because, believe it or not, I don't want this world destroyed," Nameless answered, pacing back and forth before them like a caged lion. The fluid movements were pure predatory. There was no way this Devil could ever pass for human. Ever. "To destroy Heaven, Hell and Earth simply because you were essentially put on a short leash... how childish! The Seven Sinners may claim they are doing it for their own sake, and for the sake of others being forced to restrain themselves. They may claim it's because they despise being forced to limit their powers. But, to put it crudely, that is all bullshit. The Seven are angry with God and Satan for roping them in, as was their right when the Great War was fought. They are upset as a child is at his mother for putting him in time out. Infants, that's what they are. And I have never been one to indulge those of a petty and childish nature."

"So... you're doing this because they're throwing a temper tantrum, according to you?" Rosette pressed. "Sorry, but I don't buy that. I mean, you've shown your a big, bad Devil. Why don't YOU do something about them then?"

Nameless let out a surprised laugh, eye brows arching nearly to his hair. "Your contractor is quite the comedian, Kinslayer! I do nothing about them because, like them, I was given limitations for remaining here. I am not allowed to take sides with either Heaven or Hell. So... I chose the side of Earth, which is essentially what you are fighting for. You are fighting for this world's right to exist. A noble cause and one that I find worth my time and effort. To lose all this... it would devastate my heart. Such a perfect world of corrupt beauty and organized chaos." He sighed, an almost dreamy expression on his face. "Neither Heaven nor Hell can offer such a magnitude of extremes."

This guy... was a wacko. Completely off his nut! Rosette shook her head and let out a long breath. Wow... "Okay, so help us. How do we kill the Seven Sinners? I'm just guessing here that a gun isn't gonna work."

"Againt the Seven?" Nameless laughed again, rubbing his blank eyes. Still chuckling, he added, "No, of course bullets and a little gun won't work against them! The Seven Sinners are the remaining of a handful of Devils who actually bathed in God's light. They sided with Satan during the Great War and were cast down with him. They were, so to speak, Angels at one time. Part of the original Fallen to enter Hell. They're powers are unlike anything you can ever imagine in your darkest nightmares. There is no killing them. However... you can leash them again."

"How? How do we do that?"

Nameless shrugged, flashing his fangs in another grim smile. "That I can't tell you. It would effect future decisions. When the time comes, you will know. But here's a bit of advice to aid the matter: be patient. You've not tasted what the Seven Sinners are capable of, so remember to wait."

"Huh?" How was that supposed to help them? IT DIDN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE! What were they supposed to wait for? Was he trying to tell them to wait before harnessing the Seven? WHAT?

"Chicago," Chrono interupted quickly before Nameless could repeat his answer. "We figured out that it's the meeting place between the three worlds."

"That is correct," Nameless confirmed, waiting patiently for Chrono to finish his question.

"It's existed for almost a hundred years untouched, all the churches in exactly the same place. Why haven't the Seven attempted this before?"

"Because they didn't have a conduit with which to enable this plan before. Yes, all three worlds meet up in the city of Chicago, but they're still on separate plains. They need something still, a way of breaking through the barriers and letting all three collide in one massive ball of chaos and destruction."

"Do you know what this conduit is?" Rosette asked eagerly, eyes slightly wide and heart pounding. There was still a chance then. If they could find the conduit and destroy it or hide it, then they could stop the destruction and save everyone. _Especially Joshua!_

"Of course I do. But... again, it will effect the future. I can't tell you what the conduit is or how it works. What I _can_ tell you though is that the conduit is here, in Paris."

All three of them turned as a pounding sound came to the door, rattling the hinges and threatening to break the lock. "Rosette... your gun," Chrono whispered, crimson eyes flashing as the door lurched inward again.

Nameless let out a long sigh, brushing his long fingers down the black leather of his sleeves. "And now, Kinslayer, I must ask you to sin against your kind once more. I refuse to be captured by a pawn of the Seven. It's just insulting they would order their spy to capture me." He gave a disdainful roll of eyes before an almost sad smile came to his lips. "One more piece of advice; talk can be purchased. Have a care what is said amongst strangers as well as friends."

The pounding on the door was being accentuated now by Remington's voice shouting for Rosette, Tegan and Asmodius shouting at him to step back. Their friends? Did that mean... the spy was one of them? She only had a moment to think about this alarming possibility before Chrono was pulling her in closer, closing his wings over her. "Stay close to me, Rosette," he said, eyes flaring brighter, spilling crimson light in room. And... he looked almost like there were flaming red tears in his eyes. Why was he sad? Bowing his head in Nameless' direction, he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Whenever you're ready, my lord. Just know that... that I have always respected you."

"And you are about the only Devil I would ever allow the pleasure of killing me. So, having said that..."

Rosette peaked from gap in Chrono's wings, letting out a surprised gasp when everything started moving again. The papers were whipped around and disintegrated in the rushing hellfire sweeping the room, the feathers blowing into ash. Unbelievable heat, black and red flames touching over everything, whirling around in a confusing spin. Brimstone filled the air, making her cough and choke. Chrono's arms tightened around her and this time she knew for certain he was holding her back.

"Forgive me, my lord."

Rosette screamed when the flames finally exploded onto Nameless, catching in his long white hair and burning away darkly, eating the skin from his bones. Nameless screamed, dropping to his knees on the floor, skin sloughing off to blow away in a fine grey dust, carried by the quickening winds. She struggled against Chrono, tried to break his hold. Nameless was weird and a Devil, yes, but he'd helped them. He'd given them information they most likely wouldn't have found on their own. He didn't deserve to die. And she couldn't believe CHRONO was the one killing him!

The door finally exploded on it's hinges and she could hear Tegan scream over the roaring wind-flames. Nameless had stopped screaming and was now twitching on the floor, his bones blackening and being ripped apart by the fire. From head to toe, the skeletal frame simply exploded, harder bone pieces beating against Chrono's wings still protecting her. The flames suddenly stopped, the winds dying down until they no longer existed. Everything around them in the room, except for a small circle surrounding her and Chrono, was charred to ruins. The rest of the house was untouched.

Remington, Tegan and Asmodius untangled themselves from where they'd fallen back, Remington entering the room first with his gun out and pointed at the ceiling for the time being. Tegan was behind him, walking backward slightly, eyes wary as they picked their way over the charred remains in the room. "Chrono, Rosette, are you hurt?" she asked, finally lowering her gun back into the chest holster and turning to them.

If it weren't for Chrono's solid arms holding her up, she most likely would have fallen to her knees. She knew Chrono was only doing what Nameless had wanted, but to see someone who had been a solid, living being turned into nothing more than flaky grey powder was still jarring. The smells of brimstone and burning bacon mingled in the air, filling her nose and throat. Except... as hard as she tried to imagine it was bacon she was smelling, the final remains of what the smell had originally been were finally settling on the blackened floor. "I think I'm gonna upchuck!"

Immediately, Chrono let go of her, wings folding back so she could finally fall to her knees and cough fitfully, nothing coming up thankfully. He leaned over her, holding her hair back and running clawed fingers down her back gently, there in case she actually did manage to find something that could be vomited.

"It's all the brimstone and sulfur in the air," Tegan choked out, covering her nose and mouth with her shirt sleeve. "If we can get out of this room and open the windows, everything will be fine."

"Rosette, can you stand?" Chrono asked, his deep voice very close to her ear. Rosette took the hand he offered, using it to rise up on shaky legs. When it was obvious she wasn't entirely ready to stand on her own, he lifted her easily and carried her from the room, wings lowered and pressed tightly to his back, almost like a cape. Being outside and watching Chrono's power at work was one thing. Being actually INSIDE that tornado of hellfire and watching someone she knew, however briefly, die was completely different. It reminded her once again that the arms holding her didn't belong to a handsome man who happened to have wings, but to a Devil. A very powerful Devil. She leaned her head back enough to look up at his face... and realized he was watching her.

Crimson eyes contained a pain that not even the little smile could hide. _A monster... she sees that... a monster..._

Rosette's eyes narrowed as those alien thoughts came to her. "I can walk now. You can put me down," she commented. He nodded once, setting her down gently. He was about to move away when she grabbed his hand, purposely running her fingertips over his claws before entwining with his. Chrono looked shocked for a moment before his expression softened in a real smile, one that lit his face up. She wouldn't tell him she was hearing his thoughts, not yet. There was too much weird stuff going on right then, he didn't need to worry about that. Besides, she didn't need to hear him to know he was happy she was holding his hand.

"I'm sorry, Rosette," he mumbled as they continued to walk down the hall and to the stairs.

"For what?"

"For that. Upstairs. I'm sorry that had to happen."

She squeezed his hand and gave him a bright smile. "We can talk about it a little later. Right now, we've gotta air this place out so it doesn't smell like brimstone and... other stuff." Thinking of the 'other stuff' only made her stomach jump again!

"How are you feeling, by the way? Are you dizzy or anything?"

"No, not rea- hey, I'm not dizzy!" Rosette gaped in surprise at this realization. Chrono was still in his true form... and she wasn't having any side effects! That meant she was getting used to the seal being open for longer periods of time!

Chrono chuckled, ducking his head as they entered the small sitting area. "I didn't think you were. If you do start to feel light headed, tell me. I don't want you straining yourself."

Rosette smiled back and nodded. Nameless was definately wrong on one thing. Chrono WAS different, she was sure of it!

Soon enough, everyone was gathered in the sitting area, Tegan scooping up broken glass from the floor while Remington sopped up what smelled like coffee from the ornate rug. "Asmodius picked up a very powerful aura," Remington explained. "We thought it was one of the Seven coming."

"What was that thing?" Tegan asked, brown eyes wide still from having witnessed what had happened. "And why aren't you injured, Rosette? Hellfire's not exactly something humans can just waltz through!"

"Oh... I don't really know," Rosette replied. "I'm not hurt or anything. Maybe... because Chrono was protecting me?" Her mind flashed back on another incident with hellfire. One in the woods, and where Chrono hadn't been shielding her. Chrono's back was to the room, watching the Paris streets from slightly behind a heavy curtain. The room seemed a lot smaller with his larger frame in it. He was being very careful where he put his wings so that they didn't get stepped on, which added to the slightly cramped feeling.

"Maybe," the necromancer replied, plucking at her lower lip thoughtfully. "None the less, I'd like to examine you, if I could. Just to be safe."

"Uh... sure. I guess." Great, she knew what that meant. Tegan 'examined' her after she'd come back from... THERE... and it had involved saying 'ahh', getting her knees whacked with a little hammer and, worst of all... NEEDLES! She'd have to think of a way out of it and fast.

"Now, who was that in the room?" Asmodius asked, coming back in from the kitchen from where he'd made a fresh pot of coffee. "I've never felt anything so... overwhelming... in my entire life. I'm quite frankly surprised, Chrono, that you were able to defeat him so easily."

Chrono shifted by the window but remained silent for a long time. Finally, he said softly, "That was the Nameless One. He was who we were going to see in Chicago."

All eyes turned to him then, Tegan quickly catching the piece of glass about to slip from her hands. "That... was him?" she asked. "He found us that easily? How?"

"Nameless knows everything. There isn't a place in the world we could have hid that he wouldn't have found us in."

"And what did the Nameless One have to say?" Remington pressed. The pleasant smile had long ago faded into a shrewd frown, his blue eyes narrowed and thoughtful.

"He wasn't here to aid us. He wanted to kill us," Chrono lied. _Please don't let her... she can't say... one of them..._

Rosette blinked and shook her head as the very strong thoughts slammed into her own. A third time in one night? It wasn't as complete a thought as the previous two, but it was enough for her to catch the worry from him. Chrono was afraid she'd blow his lie and tell them Nameless had been of great assistance. She knew why he'd lied, too, but she didn't believe it. How could she believe any of the people in this room was a spy? Remington certainly wasn't. He'd stood helped her since the start of things almost eighty years ago. Asmodius was giving them a place to stay, weapons to fight with... a second chance. And Tegan had brought her back, helped them both to readjust to this new world. How could any of them be a spy?

"It was a trap, then? He invited us to Chicago just to kill us?" Tegan exclaimed.

"No, Chicago was real. Nameless wanted to give his aid then. It was after the burning of the city that he changed his mind. The Seven Sinners finally managed to put fear into his heart."

"They scared something THAT powerful?" Tegan shivered and finally deposited the broken glass into a garbage container. "My God, what are we up against? I'm a complete null when it comes to sensing auras, but even I could feel his presence! Asi, I don't think-"

"We CAN do this," Asmodius interupted firmly, blue eyes flickering a little brighter. "We have to do this. If we don't, then who will? God is not going to save this world, and Satan will only come to destroy the Seven and take over himself. No one will fight for this world, except for us. We can't quit now, Tegan."

Tegan remained silent for a moment, still clearly not convinced. Finally, letting out a sigh, she muttered, "If you say so."

"In any case, if the Seven Sinners were after the Nameless One, there's a good chance they could have picked up his trail now," Remington added. "He wasn't exactly trying to be conspicuous about his location, now was he?"

"We should probably leave here then, and very soon," Asmodius agreed, standing up. "Let's search the city as best as we can, see if any lesser Demons or devils might have followed Nameless here. After that, I'll need a few minutes to try and find some place we can-,"

"I already have a safe place in mind," Remington said softly.

"Then why didn't you mention it earlier?" Tegan exploded angrily.

"And when should I have mentioned this, when we were training in England or running for our lives in Chicago?" the blonde haired man answered back with an all too patient smile. "If we plan on storming Chicago, which I'm almost certain will be the game plan, we'll need the Magdalene Order to help us."

"The Magdalene Order? I thought they'd disbanned," Asmodius said, clearly shocked.

"Oh, good heavens, no! The Order still exists, but it's an underground operation now, funded privately and perhaps even unknown to the Vatican."

"Where are they located?" Tegan pressed, now clearly interested.

"New York. I'll contact Sister Mary and-,"

"Wait... did you say Sister _Mary_?" Rosette asked, sitting up straighter. It couldn't be the same... could it?

Remington chuckled, running his fingers through his hair a little. "Yes, THAT Sister Mary. She was only ten back then, and she's still as lively at ninety. Sister Mary is running the Magdalene Order, though she's mostly in charge of desk work rather than field work now. I'll call her as soon as we've ensured the Nameless One wasn't followed."

Rosette swallowed heavily at the thought of seeing Mary again. She couldn't imagine the young girl as an old lady. And it made her wonder... "Are Claire and Anna still alive?"

The down cast eyes and the way Remington cleared his throat told her they weren't. It wasn't really surprising since both of them had been older than her by a few years. Claire would have been almost a hundred years old if she was still alive! Still... she didn't like knowing her friends from so long ago were gone and she was still here. Mary was gonna have kittens when they showed up!

"Let's get this over with then," she said, getting to her feet. "We've got a lotta ground to cover."

"Don't hesitate to kill any Devils or Demons you come across," Asmodius cautioned as Tegan, Remington and Rosette all went to get their guns and ammunition. "Remember they could be working for the Seven."

And with that caution in the air, they went to Tegan's room to arm themselves for a night of possible Devil slaying.

An hour later and they were all ready to comb through Paris for any would be pursuers. Chrono and Rosette stayed together as a team while Asmodius, Tegan and Remington all went their separate ways. This was completely against Rosette's will, but Chrono had been insistant that they stick together. After much shouting, arguing and even a couple of sharp hair pulls (to Chrono, he wouldn't dare do something like that to Rosette!), Rosette finally admitted defeat and allowed him to go with her. Naturally, she still grumbled about 'not needing a stinkin' babysitter' the entire time.

Rosette glanced over at Chrono, now in his smaller form, tucking her jacket more securely around herself to hide the guns holstered under each arm, across each hip and then two more on her thighs. Wouldn't do to go scaring the innocents, would it? "So... what's the deal here?" she asked, trusting Chrono's heightened instincts and perception to do the watching for them.

Chrono gave her almost innocent crimson eyes. "The deal for what?" he inquired.

"Don't play cute with me, you Devil! What was all that back at the house?"

He blinked, still with the questioning look. "What stuff? With Nameless or after?"

"Before! No, after. Aw, heck, all of it! Why'd he want you to kill him? And why'd you do it?"

Chrono sighed, puffing a piece of hair out of his face. "You make it sound like I WANTED to kill Nameless. I didn't, Rosette. I... I owed him a great debt, and this is how he wanted me to repay it."

"By burning him up? Geeze, you Devils sure have a weird way of paying each other back!"

She was momentarily surprised by the almost fierce glare he turned on her. "Please, Rosette, don't belittle what I did. I'm not happy I had to do it, but it was for the best. Nameless knew the Seven were after him, and that together they could capture him and try to torture him into revealing information about us. He wanted me to kill him to protect us. And, he also didn't want to die at their hands. It was a greater honor for him to be killed by me than them."

Rosette groaned, smacking her forehead. "I don't get it! He was incredibly powerful. Why couldn't he fight them off and go into hiding? And why you? There wasn't anyone else he could have asked?"

"It's a little complicated, but to sum it up, Nameless helped me hide after I left Aion. He kept the Pursuers away long enough for me to hide away. He saved me, so to speak. And, he can't go into hiding because each of the Seven has a unique power other than controling the seven deadly sins. Aira, the Sinner of Anger, can create hellfire, which is what she burned Chicago with. Volupte, the Sinner of Lust, can restore life to fallen Devils. And Leviathan, the Sinner of Envy, can track any Demon or Devil once he tastes their aura. Nameless needed to use his powers just to escape the hellfire, which meant Leviathan can now track him anywhere."

"Anywhere?"

Chrono nodded solomnly. "Anywhere. Which is why you shouldn't go alone, and neither should Tegan. You're both human and very susceptable to the deadly sins. If Leviathan DID track Nameless here, then chances are very good he'll be bringing company."

"Then why the heck didn't anyone go with her?" she exclaimed.

Shrugging, he tucked his hands into his blue jeans pockets. "I don't know. Maybe because..." He stopped short, eyes narrowing to fiery slits.

Rosette paused, too, following his gaze to a small entrance way labeled 'Entree des Catacombes', and next to this was another sign that she couldn't read, but it was yellow and had a picture of a hammer on it, so it had to mean the structure was under repairs. She didn't need to speak French to know what either one meant. "Chrono?" she asked, noting that the chained lock was broken open, and that something was drawn on the sidewalk. Something that seemed to glow a deep crimson red. She edged closer, hand slipping into her coat. As she got closer, she noticed that the symbol was that of an arrow pointing inside, the colors shifting now from the almost blood color to a dark, pulsing black. How come no one else noticed it? She reached out with her toe, smudging through the stuff.

"ROSETTE!" Chrono grabbed her, whirling her away from the stuff with an almost panicked expression. "Be careful, or you'll-,"

"Relax! It didn't hurt me," she replied, rolling her eyes. She instantly sobered up when his grip on her arms turned almost painful, eyes even wider than before.

"Rosette... can you see that?"

"What, the arrow? Yeah, I can see it, can't you?"

Chrono's gaze swung from her to the remains of the arrow and back again. "That's the problem, Rosette. You shouldn't be able to. That mark was made by a Devil for Devils. You shouldn't be able to see it at all!"

Swallowing heavily, Rosette looked again at the arrow, shivering lightly. "Chrono... I was gonna tell you this later but... back at the house, I could hear you."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked slowly. He wasn't mad at her, she knew that, but his grip was still going to bruise her if it tightened anymore.

"I mean, I could hear your thoughts. Like when you thought I'd see you as a monster, and when you didn't want me to open my mouth and-,"

Chrono released her, backing away slowly. "Rosette... something's not right. Something's... just not right."

"Well, of course it's not right! You think I like having two voices in my head, or seeing funny looking marks outside the Catacombs? It's not NORMAL! But we can't dwell on it now. We've got a job to do, so let's do it and worry about this stuff later, okay? Now, what's this mark mean?"

Shifting a little from one foot to the other, still obviously very bothered by this little alarming twist, he mumbled, "It's a sign. It means there's a meeting of Devil and Demons in there. The fact that it's still glowing means the meeting is still in progress."

That sealed it for her. Rosette marched over to the entrance, pushing the chains aside and opened the doors. Chrono's hand closed around her wrist, stopping her from taking the first step in.

"Rosette, no. It's too dangerous. There could be hundreds of Devils down there, maybe even thousands. The Catacombs are a labrynth of tunnels and corpses. If we take a wrong turn, we could be lost forever down there, trapped with Devils hunting us down. Let's go get the others before we-,"

"By the time we get everyone, the meeting could be done," she argued. "If there ARE hundreds of Devils down there, we can take them, I know we can. And what if this meeting was called by the Seven Sinners? We need to find out, don't we?"

Sighing, Chrono reluctantly let go of her arm. "I don't like this," he muttered, even as he followed her into the darkness inside.

"Yeah, that's great. Is there a light switch around here?"

Chrono's answer was better than a light switch. There was a soft click and then a beam of light flooded the narrow passageway before them, leading downward below the streets. The Devil smiled and shrugged. "I saw them by the door," he replied, indicating the flashlight. He flashed the beam before them, running it up and down the walls before it fell ahead to a rather dark opening. "Let me go first."

Rosette had no problem with that! The air inside was a little stuffy and humid, smelling faintly of dust and old decay, not unlike a forest. Minus the pine trees, obviously. As they approached to darker entrance, they both stopped at the top, Chrono flashing the light down along a spiral staircase. "Hey... Chrono?"

"Um, yeah?"

"The Catacombs... are they REALLY full of dead people?"

He gave a nervous chuckle. "I'd say so."

"How many, do you think?"

"Millions."

"Oh." She took a shaky breath and let it out. "Okay."

Chrono looked back with a little smirk. "You're not scared, are you? The dead can't harm you."

Rosette gave him a withering glare. "Uh-huh, tell that to the girl ripped apart by zombies!"

"That was only a moving picture, Rosette."

"Yeah, so?" She followed him down the winding stairs, barely breathing as the air got hotter and heavier.

"So... Night Of The Living Dead wasn't real. I thought you knew that!"

"Oh, can it! I don't know why I put up with... you..." Rosette looked around the small hallway they were in now, glancing from left to right at the two passages. "So... which way do we go?"

Chrono shined the light along both tunnels before walking over to the right. The light reflected off a dark black and red substance. Another arrow. "This way. So far, it looks like they've stuck with the tourist tracks."

"Ew! You mean people actually GO DOWN HERE?" She drew another gun out, still following behind him with both barrels pointed down and away from him. She didn't want to accidentally shoot him with holy rounds, now did she? They continued to walk, Chrono checking the walls and floor for more arrows every once in a while. As they went further and further down the sloping incline, the air became more humid, more full of moisture.

Rosette noticed the change in the flooring as soon as her foot crunched against the gravel. They had entered a smallish chamber, covered completely in wet gravel, some of the areas so worn down that it had almost become a fine poweder. She blew a piece of hair out of her face as they approached a set of painted wooden doors. The lock on these was also broken... and across the front of these doors was another symbol painted in... whatever that stuff was. A chill ran through Rosette when she realized the symbol was an upside down cross, complete with a figure on it. "That's just gruesome," she whispered.

Chrono opened the doors slowly, glancing back over his shoulder with a very good attempt at a reassuring smile. "We can always turn back, Rosette. We don't have to keep going."

Rosette followed the beam of light into this new space, and looked back again at the shadows behind her. Broad daylight outside, but it was impossible to tell that in here. Taking another shaky breath she nodded toward the new room before them. "Let's go."

Chrono swept the beam before them and it took everything Rosette had not to scream. The walls... all the walls were made of bones! HUMAN bones! Rows of arm and leg bones stacked neatly together, skulls tucked into it forming a pattern across the walls. Just hundreds of thousands of bones arranged in a macabre display. "Why would anyone do this?" she whispered, edging along behind Chrono has her eyes continued to take in all the bones surrounding them, some missing pieces, others looking so clean they appeared fake.

"The bodies needed to go somewhere during all the plagues," Chrono explained patiently, and also in a hushed voice. "Think of this as more of a memorial for the dead and not a giant mass grave."

"Not working. Got another analogy?"

Rosette practically jumped out of her skin when he reached back, gently laying his hand over one of hers, tightly wrapped around the reassuring weight of a gun. "Don't worry, Rosette. I'm here."

"Yeah, I doubt even you would be much good against zombies. This place is giving me the heebie jeebies. Let's just get outta this room, okay?"

"Um... it's not going to get better, just so you know. The whole place is practically built like this."

"WHAT?" She quickly covered her mouth at the loud burst of sound, looking around as Chrono cringed.

"Not so loud! What if someone's coming up behind us?" he hissed.

"Sorry," she whispered back.

"Look, Rosette, you're real jittery. Maybe we SHOULD turn back and get-,"

"No, no, everything's jake, really! Just... I don't like being here. I mean, I've seen some stuff but nothing like THIS!"

Chrono waited only a moment longer before continuing on. "Okay, but if you get too scared, just say so and we'll go back. I'm serious."

Rosette rolled her eyes at that. Yeah, he could be as serious as he wanted, but she still wasn't going to admit the place made her skin crawl worse than anything she'd ever seen. She'd rather face a thousand Devils than have to walk through here again! The next section that came to didn't help at all to stop the tingly feeling on her skin. Bones were heaped together in a corner of the room, a small alter with an inscription on it... but it was the jumble of bones, tossed aside like trash, that held her attention. Skulls grimaced back at her, fingers trailed across the floor, back bones were jumbled with leg bones. How many bodies had been dumped and left here to rot, unmarked and unmourned?

The tunnel continued on, the walls made entirely of the bones. Water was dripping steadily from the ceiling, plopping on their heads and shoulders ever once in a while. The bones here were different, like they'd been polished or coated in a sealant of some kind. The gleamed in the flashlight's glow, and it wasn't only because of the water. Rosette didn't want to ask Chrono why they were like this. The ceiling was made of stone, though, which was good, and arched just a bit. Stalactites were forming from the water dripping down, pulling the minerals further into the spikes with each drop.

The passage way finally opened up into a small room. Rosette's relief at seeing the walls were made of solid stone quickly faded when she saw chest high partitions made of... still more bones. Why did it look like the skulls were grinning at her, laughing maybe? And the partitions had no rhyme or reason, just random blocks of stones fixed together. She jumped when she turned and almost collided with one of the partitions, jumping back against Chrono, who quickly turned to her.

"Rosette?"

She was breathing hard, trying to suck in the muggy air to lungs that were burning. The room was shrinking, she could swear it, and all those skulls were looming in closer to her. Rosette fell to her knees, gasping and trying to fight off the grey spots. Chrono was right, it was silly to be afraid of the dead, but they surrounded her in here, pressing close and smiling... always smiling. "Can't... breathe," she choked out.

Chrono set the flashlight down and kneeled in front of her, blocking her view of the skull partition. "Rosette, look at me," he said gently, cupping her cheek and forcing her to look into his sympathetic eyes. "Just look at me, okay? Don't look at the bones, look at me." He took one of her hands and pressed it to his chest so she could feel his heart beating steadily, lungs moving up and down rhythmically. "Match your breath to mine, Rosette. You can do it, I know you can. Ready and, breathe in... and let it out. Again. In... and out."

Rosette followed his instructions, staring only at his eyes and breathing with him. Slowly, she could feel her heart returning to normal and the grey spots fade from her vision. Chrono still touched her cheek, thumb rubbing lightly along her chin. The look in his eyes was nothing but gentle concern and warmth for her. Here she was, being such a tough cookie and gun-ho about tracking down the Devils in their meeting spot... and now the one who didn't want to be here in the first place was keeping her from passing out!

Chrono pulled her in, resting her head on his shoulder and petting her hair. "I think we've had enough," he whispered. "Come on, let's go."

She didn't listen to him. Instead, she pushed to her feet, picking up her guns. "I'm fine now. We've gotten this far, we can't turn back now."

"Rosette, please-,"

"Are you coming or not, Chrono?" she demanded, already moving for to next section.

Eyes downcast and more unhappy than he had been at the start of this, he picked up the flashlight. "There's no way I can talk you out of this?" he asked hopefully.

"Nuh-uh! Not even if you promised one of those chocolate coffee things again."

He gave a bitter little smile at the reminder of their night out before. "What if I threw cheesecake in with it?" he offered, getting up and brushing off his pants.

Rosette spun on him, eyes narrowed in mock suspicion. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to be trying to bribe me with desert, would you?"

His smile turned into an amused smirk, eyes glinting mischievously. "Maybe. Would it work to get you out of here?"

Any answer she was about to give died when they entered the next portion of the Catacombs. "Are those all..."

"Skulls. Yes, they are."

Once again, nothing but neatly arranged bones, like someone was making art from the bodies of the dead. The one wall across from them was made entirely of different sized skulls, some so small they had to be infants. A stone plaque was in the middle of this with something written across the front, like a poem. She didn't want to read it. The only other wall that had anything on it to break up the remains held a giant whtie cross, which seemed to gleam in a startling contrast to all the dark wetness everywhere. It was the first time she'd ever thought the holy cross looked gruesome or misplaced. There were two passage ways here, one leading further in and what looked like maybe up to the street, while the other had a chain link across the front to discourage anyone from entering. It figured the next Devil sign would be on that entrance way.

Chrono led still, and she followed, shivering when she saw the walls now were carved out tombs, lined to the ceiling. On some, there were mutiple bodies stacked, limbs hanging over the side. Brittle and broken bone fragments were under their feet, grinding against the wet gravel floor. Between trying not to step on bones and not rubbing up against the narrow walls where the bones rested, Rosette was having a hard time supressing the crawling on her skin. She'd thought the worst had been before. This topped anything she'd seen previously!

"I still can't believe people wanna come look at all this," she muttered, stepping over almost an entire skeleton that had been flung from a crypt onto the path.

"People actually don't see this portion," Chrono replied, still shining the light ahead and not daring to look back. "This is in the restricted area. They've only got so much of the Catacombs charted, you know. The rest is a maze of paths that people can die in if they can't find their way back."

"Gee, that's reeeeal swell! And how far does this go?"

"Miles long and miles deep." He jumped over a crack in the path floor, flooded over with murky water. The flooring here was definately not as easy to walk as the tourist one, and it was also a lot wetter. There were a couple times where one of them would slip and the other would stop them from falling, but slowly, they wound their way down and further in, the bones getting older and more neatly layed out as they went. It seemed whoever was carting the dead down here didn't want to go farther than necessary to do it.

The reached a turn in the path where a Devil mark was drawn on the wall. They paused, staring down the neatly lined graves at lit torches proceding down to an arched entry way. More fire light flickered from this room, as well as voices, one speaking as others murmured in response. "I think we found it," Chrono whispered. Rosette nodded silently in response. He turned off the flashlight and held on to it just in case they needed a quick escape. Rosette clicked the safety off on each gun before they began to move closer to that room.

The murmurs from the Devils was getting louder, nad not just because of their proximity. They were obviously worked up over what the speaker was saying. Rosette stifled a gasp as a familiar voice lifted over the muted shouts of agreement, burning against her ears and bringing back a flood of painful memories.

"You have all felt this, the choking grasp of those in power. Why should we collar ourselves like dogs, only to be used as weapons in their wars? Why are we the pawns in their sick games? I promise you, my brothers and sisters, that this revolution will mean the freeing of all those who are oppressed. The Seven are just like you, all of you. They've been forced into the shackles of slavery and compliance by all that is holy and unholy, turned into toys to test human worth."

"Human worth, HA!" someone near the entrance shouted.

"The only good human is an eaten one," a woman screamed. That answered her question from before about Devils eating people.

"No, my friends, do not blame the humans," Aion shouted, voice carrying over the din of more human comments. "The humans are just as much the pawns of both Lords. They work together, testing how truly loyal they are, never trusting their loyalties fully. How can one be expected to serve the Lord God when he is beset with the temptations of the Lord Satan at every turn? God may have created them, but he certainly doesn't love them. What parent would seek to ensnare their own children in a web of destruction?"

"Are you siding with God then, Aion?" a deep voice rumbled in shock. They were just outside the entrance way, peering in to a large chamber filled with Devils and Demons of different sorts. The room was circular and dropped down many levels, each level housing thousands upon thousands of the dead. Some of the Devils were sitting inside the tombs, having shoved the corpses aside unceremoniously, while others stood around. Rosette's eyes widened when she noticed a few Angels grouped together, staring disdainfully at the creatures surrounding them. Even they were listening to this?

Aion was in the middle of all this, in the only blank area of the entire room, constantly walking the circle as he spoke, making eye contact with those listening. Two hooded figures stood still in the middle, black cloaks covering everything from their faces to their hands. "I side with the cause, Tenebrion, not with God or Satan. But humans serve their purposes, even to us. Every great and new empire must have slaves, correct? And, since the only way to salvation and freedom is to destroy are enemies completely, then that role falls upon the humans!"

A roar of approval went up at this. Shouts of "Aion!" roared through the room, shaking the bones. The Demons with animal heads were bleating, the warrior Devils were clashing their weapons together.

Aion smiled, allowing this for a moment longer before raising his hands for silence. "My brothers and sisters," he shouted, silky voice easily carrying and demanding instant silence. "I cannot promise that all will survive this revolt. I cannot promise that this new world we seek to create will be a paradise. What I can promise you is that, live or die, this new world we will create will be one of absolute freedom. There will be no one ruler. All shall be equal and free to do as they wish. If you enjoy being bound by those who would use you for their own selfish gain, then go in peace. But, if you're like me and are repulsed at being tethered any longer, then help us snap the noose from your neck. Rise up with us and show Satan and God that we will NOT be their dogs anymore! You came here tonight because you wanted freedom? THIS is the answer I give to you!"

More screams followed, louder than before. Rosette shook her head when Chrono motioned they should go. Not now, not when Aion was down there and building an army for the Seven Sinners. She had a sneaky suspicion that the two figures in the cloaks were part of the Seven. If they took out two...

"I'm NOT fightin' along side some feathered holy freaks," A Demon roared, pointing over at the few Angels gathered.

"This isn't just for opressed sinners, Daemon," Aion replied coldly. "We fight this revolution for ALL who are suffering. Devil, Demon, Angel... and even human."

"WHAT?"

"Humans are SLAVES!"

"You contradict yourself, Aion!"

Aion again held his hands up for silence. "These Angels risked everything to be here tonight. They came here expecting your hatred and mistrust of them. That is a courage none here can match, not unless you look upon them and see beyond Light shining from their eyes. If you look upon them and see brothers and sisters in the cause, just as I do, then you are truly courageous enough to fight for this. If you see only the servants of God... then perhaps you should leave. We welcome ALL who wish to fight with us, and no one who takes arms shall be treated with anything less than the respect due to peers. You think all humans are slaves? How is it fair to enslave them when they fight to be free from those who created them into this world as slaves? If this is your way of thinking, then leave. Our cause is not to keep those who yearn for freedom trapped in the role assigned to them by the Powers That Be. Ours is to give them the choice; side with us or remain content in this role."

"Rosette," Chrono whispered, tugging on her sleeve as more shouts went up. "We should go."

"No! This is our chance to kill him for good," she hissed back.

"Rosette, _please_," he begged.

Rosette glared at him and jerked her arm free. The big ox Demon had finally moved, and now she had a clear shot of Aion, who was speaking to the cloaked figures in the middle now. She took aim, finger putting pressure on the trigger. Just a little more to the right...

The screams changed from one section as four Demons ripped through the crowds, heavy spiked clubs swinging over their fanged pig heads. They were heading for Aion, intent on killing them. The figure to his left moved with dizzying speed, cloak falling back to reveal tumbling golden curls. A pike staff whistled through the air as Anamalech bent backward to avoid the club, bringing the curved blade of her weapon across the pig Demon's throat, black blood falling everywhere except her. She was already moving for the next one, blue eyes glowing in the dim light.

The figure to the right moved as well, swinging around with a gun pointed and firing into the Demon closing in from behind. The Demon screamed as his flesh began to burn and blacken, squealing and trying to beat out the cross shaped holes in his head. He fell over dead, the holy rounds having finally eaten away at his brain. Anamalech had already killed her second one and was whipping around to help Aion, but there was no need.

Aion, smiling, pushed his glasses further up his nose and waited. The pig Demon grunted and swung his club, bringing it down for a death blow... when it stopped in midair mere inches from Aion's face. The Demon froze, obviously afraid as Aion casually, and without any sign of strain, backhanded him into the ground, splitting the pig head nearly from his shoulders with that one blow.

Everyone was silent, staring at the beautiful Angel of Death as she wiped the blade of her pike off on the dead Demon's clothing. Aion dusted his hands and went over to the other cloaked figure, speaking softly before offering it a hand up. As the figure stood, the hood fell back... and Chrono was struggling to hold Rosette in place. Joshua... but it wasn't the Joshua she'd been expecting. Joshua was supposed to be in his nineties, and frail. This person looked the same as he did from before, right down to the boyish smile and dimple in his cheek as Aion ruffled his hair. He was young again! How was that possible?

"Here beside me stand not an enemy and a servant, but two allies," Aion said softly into the stillness. "Anamalech has been gracious to lend her skills to our cause... and Joshua is here to protect me, as any friend would do. Are there still those who are unwilling to accept everyone into our new family?"

Not one sound greeted this question.

"Good. Now, if that is settled and you still wish to be free, then join us in the city of Chicago, three days from now. There, you will help us usher in a new world of hope, comraderie and, most importantly, freedom."

"Rosette, we can't fight off all of them at once," Chrono argued a little louder as those assembled took up chanting Aion's name again.

"But he has JOSHUA! I can get a clear shot of Aion, I know I can," she fought back, still struggling.

"Rosette, NO!"

"Damn it, Chrono!" Rosette dug her elbow in hard and finally won her freedom from his restraining arms... only to go stumbling into a groupd of Devils talking by the entrance. The Devils turned around slowly, eyes glinting black in the dull light of torches.

One hissed, forked tongue sliding from it's mouth and eyes narrowing to mere slits of malice as they swept over them both. "Chrono," he snarled angrily. He made a choking sound, throat puffing out a little.

"ROSETTE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Chrono shouted, grabbing her and pulling her around the corner just in time to miss the wad of liquid the Devil shot from his mouth. It hit a tomb across from them and the bones began to hiss and melt.

Rosette spun away as the group of Devils came out, firing both guns into their chests. They screamed, clutching at the oozing black wounds, but... nothing. Holy rounds usually burned the flesh right off! These were just regular bullets! She flashed back to what Nameless had said about watching their friends, doubt entering her mind for the first time about her companions. The Devils were beginning to figure out something was wrong now, fingers touching the edges of already healing wounds. CRAP! Sliding a clip from her gun, Rosette slipped a bullet out to examine more closely. It LOOKED like a holy round... her eyes narrowed when she noticed the cross was shaped kind of funny on the tip. She scraped her nail across it and her eyes widened when the entire cross came off. Wax? Someone had put wax crosses onto regular bullets!

"ROSETTE! How could you miss?" Chrono exclaimed, one hand wrapping around her arm and backing them both away slowly from the now advancing Devils. The Devils were chuckling wickedly, forked tongues licking across dry purplish lips.

"Chrono..." What were they gonna do? She could shoot as many bullets as she wanted at them, but all it was gonna do was make them more annoyed than they already were.

"You can beat me up later, Rosette, but right now we've got to get out of here!"

She had a moment to wonder what the heck he was doing... and then he reached across her shoulder opened the seal on the watch himself. "YOU LITTLE CREEP! I OUGHTA- AHHHH!" She quickly ducked as a ball of hellfire went sailing right about where her head would have been, catching on the Devils and making them scream in utter agony.

"Let's go!" Long claws grabbed her hand, hauling her to her feet and then nearly off them as Chrono led the sprint through the mazes under Paris. Rosette heard more shouting, saw more Devils and Demons filing after them now, carefully skirting their burning friends. LOTS of Devils and Demons. Heck, maybe even the whole room!

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" she shouted, yelping when they rounded a corner so fast she went skidding right into a grave hard. Dust and old rotted pieces of clothing filled the air, going down her throat and making her cough. Ew! She had human remains in her throat now!

"Not entirely," Chrono shouted back, stopping at an intesection between two passage ways. He quickly swerved right, pulling her along through ankle deep water, glancing over his shoulder to check to status of their pursuers. He spun Rosette behind him, grimacing as a wad of spit hit his shoulder, the skin steaming up. "You BASTARD!" The Devil caught a face full of hellfire, whirling away and down into the murky water, hoping the dark flames would go out. No such luck.

"Chrono, look!" Rosette shouted, pointing to a worn metal ladder. It led to a manhole covering in the street above! He was already shoving her toward the ladder, still facing the enemies closing in around them.

"Leaving so soon?"

Rosette froze halfway up, whipping her head around at Aion's diabolically pleasant voice. Anamalech was nowhere to be seen... but Joshua was right next to him, gun drawn and aimed at Chrono. "JOSHUA!"

Joshua smiled, but his attention never waiverered from Chrono. "Hello, sis. Long time no see."

"Joshua, get away from him! Come with us!"

"I was just about the say the same thing to you, Rosette."

Rosette was about to make her way down when Chrono clamped a hand firmly on her back, muscles tense and arm shaking a little. "Don't, Rosette. Something's not right."

The safety clicked off and Joshua gave Chrono a murderous glare. Murderous glare? From Joshua? But... but Joshua loved Chrono! Rosette remained on the ladder, torn between going to her brother and trusting Chrono. The rest of the Devils had fallen back, watching eagerly as the stand off continued.

"Be quiet, Devil! Let my sister go," Joshua snarled.

"I'm not holding her against her will, Joshua," Chrono said softly, still not removing his hand from her back.

"That's a load of crap if ever I heard it! Step away from Rosette NOW!"

"Joshua, what's wrong with you?" Rosette screamed, eyes aching with angry tears. "What's Aion done to you?"

"Aion's done nothing to me, Rosette. He's helping me free you from Chrono. He's given me the time Chrono stole from us back. Don't you want that, Rosette? I can shoot him, but you need to step away from him first. Please, Rosette."

Aion smiled beautifically, dropping an arm around Joshua's shoulder. "It's as I told you, Joshua. Chrono owns Rosette. She's his slave, she'll only do whatever he tells her."

"Yes, you were right, Aion. I can see that now," the boy replied.

"JOSHUA! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! CHRONO'S OUR FRIEND!"

"He was only my friend because he wanted you. Rosette, I'm trying to save you, but you've got to fight his hold on you!"

"Rosette, if you go to him, you'll be walking right into Aion's hands," Chrono cautioned when she shifted. "If you go... " _I know I won't be able to save you again. You'll be lost forever... and I can't live with that._

Rosette glanced at the Devil restraining her with one hand and then to her brother pleading silently with his eyes for her to come. Her instincts warred inside her, making her breath come faster, heart speed up. "Chrono... I can't..."

"Joshua sold his soul to Aion, Rosette. He's doing Aion's bidding."

Aion laughed, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Don't be so hypocritical, Chrono! You made a contract with Rosette, and I made one with Joshua. Why is it good and noble when you do it, but ghastly when I do the same? Rosette, I made a contract with your brother to atone for my actions before. All I've ever wanted was for you to be free from Chrono's mastery. Can't you see ho he's controling you?"

"STOP IT, AION! Rosette has ALWAYS had free will," Chrono roared, releasing Rosette completely as Aion took a couple steps closer.

Ignoring Chrono, Aion smiled, meeting Rosette's gaze. "Isn't this what you've longed for as well? To be completely free and unbound by a Devil? Joshua made the same sacrifice that you did so many years ago. He made a contract with me... to save you. But, unlike your Devil master, I offered him an out clause. As soon as you're completely free from Chrono's grasp, then I release him as well. All you need to do is come take your brother's hand."

"AION! STAY BACK!"

Aion held his hand out for Rosette, still several feet away. "Joshua's right there, Rosette, waiting to save his older sister. But he can't save you unless you _want_ to be saved. Do you want to be free, Rosette? Truly free?"

Rosette swallowed hard, a small gasping sound breaking from her throat as tears burned along her skin. Chrono was watching her now, crimson eyes full of a sinking dread. _She's going to do it... it's Joshua... Rosette... don't leave... _She ran fingertips down his cheek, over the metal pieces welded to his skin, smiling sadly when his eyes closed and his shoulders slumped forward, defeated. "I just want my brother back," she whispered. She turned slightly and emptied the rest of her useless bullets right into Aion's chest, sending the Devil to his knees in the water.

Chrono only had a moment to register his shock before he grabbed her around the waist and practically flew up the ladder. Joshua's gun exploded behind them, and from the couple jerks in Chrono's body, she knew at least a couple bullets found their way in. Rosette shoved the manhole cover with everything she had, surprised it moved so easily, and was out in the alley between two buildings, Chrono right after her.

"Stay back, Rosette!" She plastered herself against the smooth limestone of the building next to her, wincing as Chrono sent a blast of hellfire straight into the hole, burning anything that was trying to come out. "Get the lid!"

She slid the cover across the pavement and Chrono gave it the final kick into place, still blasting the fire down and melting the metal into the concrete. He didn't stop until it was sealed off completely, putting some barrier between them and the Devils trying to kill them. Chrono dropped to one knee, letting out a hiss of pain.

Rosette ran over to him, quickly holstering her guns, and tried to help him to his feet. Smoke still rose from neat bullet wounds in his body, blood strickling from his shoulder and his leg. His side had been grazed, cut opn but not shot through. None of them had been killing shots, thank God. "Come on, Chrono! We've gotta get away from here."

Chrono stood shakily, limping as he ran along with her down the alley. She wanted to keep him in this form for as long as possible so he could heal. "I thought I was losing you again," he choked out, growling in pain as his injured leg was slammed into a dumpster.

"I fell for those lines once, I'm not stupid enough to fall for them again," she replied. "It still doesn't change anything. Joshua is still my brother, and I'll do anything to help him!" They came to the end of the alley, pausing behind another dumpster so the people from the street couldn't see Chrono's true form. "Look, I'm gonna close the seal now. We've gotta get back to the house and wait for everyone, okay?"

Nodding, Chrono leaned against the wall, carefully moving his wings so they didn't scrape too hard against the stone.

Rosette snapped the watch closed and instantly Chrono became his smaller self, who fell to the ground with a sharp cry of pain. "Holy rounds hurt," he complained, not putting much pressure on his leg.

"Your such a wuss, you know that!"

"Rosette, I'm weaker like this. I can't help it if it hurts more in the form!"

Rolling her eyes, she looped her arm around his waist while he draped one over her shoulder and together they walked out of the alley, ignoring the stares from people as they struggled to make it back to the house.

* * *

Volupte watched the people from behind the tinted window of their limosine. Belphagor sat across from her, his grey suit slightly wrinkled, black tie at half mast. No, sitting was too formal for his current position. It was more like he sprawled across the wide seats, fingering the champagne glass idly. Out of all her male companions, Belphagor was the most beautiful. Dark black hair, eyes that ranged from silver to blue to almost purple depending on his mood. Not that she would ever sleep with him. She detested lazy lovers, and the Sinner of Sloth was guaranteed to be that.

"I do hope there's not a whole lot of fighting. I abhore violence," Belphagor drawled, eyes never lifting from his champagne.

"It's not the violence you abhore, it's the fighting," she replied, releasing a little lust directed at a human male just to amuse herself. His lover was not at all pleased when he grabbed a random woman and the two proceded to kiss passionately on the sidewalk.

"Isn't Aion supposed to be with us?"

"Aion is gathering an army so that you don't have to fight."

"Ah. What a prince! Oh, and I'm so sorry I never said how ravishing you look in ivory, my dear. You don't own enough of it."

Volupte glanced over and rewarded his flattery with a little smile. "It's too close to white for my taste."

Belphagor chuckled, blowing a piece of his shoulder length hair from his eyes. "No one could ever accuse you of being virginal, my dear Volupte."

"Thank you."

He sat up finally, though he still remained slouched in his seat. "Paris has changed alot since we were last here, hasn't it?"

"It's dirtier."

"Mm... no, that's not it. It's not as... fiery as I remember."

"Belphagor, you forget the last time we _were_ here, it _was_ on fire."

Chuckling again, Belphagor poured more champagne, drinking it slowly. "Yes, it was. My, that was a grand time!"

Volupte ignored this, getting her cell phone from her pocket when it beeped. The number flashing up was that of their spy. Flipping it open, she said coldly, "This had better be important. I don't like you using this phone."

"Forgive me," the spy said. "I wanted to inform you that Nameless is dead."

Belphagor gave her a questioning look as she sat up straighter. "Nameless is dead? Did you kill him?"

"The Sinner Chrono did."

"Then obviously they've met and talked. Chrono probably killed him so we couldn't find out what he said. Thank you for calling and informing me you failed miserably. I'll take great pleasure in watching Aira feed your entrails to you through a straw."

"Wait, there's more!"

Volupte paused in hanging up on their worthless spy. "More that you've failed at? Do regail me."

"Chrono and Rosette are at the house. Alone. Now is your chance."

Now this was something she could use. "And where are the others?"

"Out searching for you, of course. However... I think they're starting to suspect me."

"Driver, stop here," she called.

Belphagor cursed as the champagne sloshed from his flute glass and onto his expensive suite, glaring as the driver came to the door. "The damned fool! If you weren't in the limo, I'd have him fall asleep at the wheel and die."

"Get out, Belphagor. You're going on a mission," Volupte ordered. Then, returning to the spy, she said, "Where are you now?"

"At _La Cafe du Monde_, two blocks down from the house. I saw them walk in together and no one has walked in or out since."

"Belphagor will be over shortly. Contact the other fools and see where they're at. If they're coming near, tell them you were unable to contact Sinner Chrono and Rosette Christopher. Send them on a false search to buy Belphagor a little more time to cover your ass."

"I'll do everything you ask, but the Angel won't be fooled, I can tell you that."

Volupte smiled. "His wings were clipped."

"He's still strong willed. He won't rest until he knows those two are safe!"

"Don't interupt me! I wasn't finished explaining." The rudeness of lesser beings! Glaring at Belphagor (who was still slouched in his seat) and jerking her head toward the open door, she ignored his grumbling and said to the spy, "His wings were cut from him, which means he can now be killed. And, if I'm not mistaken, I believe an old friend of his is already taking care of the situation."

"But what about Chrono and Rosette?"

She hung up the phone, tired of having to listen to such incompetance. She was one of the Seven. The spy seemed to forget regularly that there wasn't much they couldn't do. Sighing, she called to the driver as he resumed his place, "House two of Rue de la Montagne. And make it in good time." First, the Sinner Chrono and Rosette Christopher. Then, to hurry back to Chicago for the destruction of the three worlds and the birth of a new and unified one.

* * *

Chrono winced, arm jerking a little as Rosette plucked the shell pieces from his skin. The holy rounds had exploded on contact, spreading shrapnel pieces everywhere. This was something Tegan had been working on for a while, and was now in the hands of their enemies. He didn't want to say it to Rosette, but he strongly suspected the human necromancer of being the spy. "Be careful of my wings, Rosette," he cautioned. twitching one of them a little further from her knee.

"Sorry. Just... I've never really been this close to them without being in a fight," Rosette replied, carefully moving the tweezers around the rapidly healing hole. As soon as they'd gotten inside, she'd opened the seal again, letting her return to this form so he could mend himself. It wasn't until he mentioned the wounds weren't closing properly that they'd discovered the holy shrapnel imbedded in his muscles and flesh.

Which was why he was now shirtless on Asmodius' enormous bed with her plucking the metal fragments from his wonds. Rosette had tried to get him to take his pants off, but he'd firmly refused, quickly turning away so she wouldn't see him blush. A plink told him she'd finally retrieved the last bit of metal and dropped it on the ceramic plate she'd brought up to save the pieces on for Tegan to look at. He rotated his shoulder, enjoying the warmth that meant his flesh was knitting back together.

"Wow! You really do heal a lot faster in this form," she commented, still kneeling behind him in the middle of the bed.

Chrono glanced over his shoulder and smiled. That smile turned to a grin when he noticed her eyes roaming up and down his wings as she forced herself not to ask the mischievous question it was obvious she wanted to. "Go ahead."

Rosette grinned excitedly before trailing hesitant fingers down the thicker joints at the top. "Are these bones?"

"They're a little closer to hardened cartiledge. That's how they can bend and lock at will."

"Neat! And they feel different, too. Like soft leather."

"Hey, don't get any ideas about a Devil skinned purse," he joked, his left wing jumping a little when she touched the lower edges lightly. "The thinner edges are more sensitive, used for picking up thermal drafts in the air."

"Never knew they were so complex," she commented.

He swallowed a little as she continued to just trace his wings with curious fingers, examining everything from the folds to the joints that connected them to his back. She moved a little closer to his back, pressing against him and making him close his eyes. Now wasn't the time to think about confessing how he felt for her. They had a mission to accomplish! They had to find the others and tell them about the meeting in the Catacombs. They had to... His eyes dropped when her hands slid across his shoulders from behind, body wedged between his wings, fingers trailing down his chest. "Rosette...?"

Rosette very carefully moved so that she was sitting across his lap, knees on either side of his. He had to wrap his arms around her to keep her from slipping off the bed. Chrono couldn't meet her gaze, fighting between the need to find the others and his need to just kiss Rosette and get it over with. He was afraid still, and especially in this form. He was so much larger than she was, so much more dangerous for her. He didn't want to hurt her. Her hand slid under his chin, tilting his face up.

Chrono froze for a second when she kissed him, just a very light brush of lips, before she drew back with a little smile, eyes still half closed. Her arms went around his neck, toying with his hair and the metal against his neck and back, as she lowered her mouth to his again, kissing him more surely than the first quick kiss, sucking her breath in when his clawed hands ran up her back, bringing her a little closer. This was everything he'd thought it would and more. To have her at long last against him, and not because he needed to protect her or comfort her, or even joke with her. To have her like THIS, kissing him, little tongue brushing across his lips in a gentle question. This was what he'd wanted for so long; to know exactly how she felt about him.

He shifted around so that she was lying on her back on the bed and he was on top of her, never once breaking his mouth from hers, his wings folding closed completely. She was tugging her shirt up and off, one arm circling his neck as the other explored his chest. Wait... the others... the mission... "Stop, Rosette," he finally managed to get out against her lips.

"What?" she gasped, eyes a little unfocused as he drew back a little. "Chrono..."

Chrono closed his eyes, the two arguments crashing inside his head. No one was here right now. They were alone, just the two of them, with no interuptions. One hand moved lower to her hip, trying to still her moving against him so he could think more clearly. Someone could be here at any minute. Someone who could walk in on them in the middle of this. _All the more reason to stop stalling_. He looked down at Rosette, who had her face turned away, staring at the wall.

"I thought this is what you wanted," she whispered, closing her eyes tightly.

"It is. I mean... Rosette..." Chrono leaned down, lips touching her cheek before moving to her neck, nuzzling against her bare shoulder. He released her hip, hand moving to her back to press her tighter to him. He never could stand to see her upset.

Outside, along the street that the house was on, a black limo was parked, the occupant in the back seat, watching the house with a shrewd little smile on her lips.

* * *

Remington's eyes narrowed as he slowly turned in the alley way, the beretta 9 mm half hidden in his jacket sleeve. Chrono had been here, he could feel the remains of his aura all over the place. That, and the melted manhole cover leading down into the Catacombs of Paris. The only thing truly hot enough to melt that much thick metal was a furnace, and seeing as it was melted INTO the street, chances were more than likely that a furnace was not used in anyway. Which meant, it had been destroyed by hellfire, possibly as the two were leaving the Catacombs. Now, why would they venture into such a gloomy place as that?

His gaze swung up when a quickly moving shadow passed overhead, eclipsing out the sun briefly. Something big with wings. A little smile came to his lips as the safety clicked off. "So... you're now the hitman for the Seven Sinners, Anamalech?" He spun around, gun leveled at her.

Anamalech stood a good fifteen feet from him, revealed in full regalia now. Her grey robes flowed around her, illuminated by the mark of Heaven's Light surrounding her golden curls. Her wings were closed for now, snow white against the darkness of the alley. She casually fell into an offensive position, her pike pointed in his direction. "I'm no one's hitwoman now, Ewan. Or may I use your true name when I send you to see Satan?"

"Ewan is my name, Ana. If I do, God forbid it, die by your hand, that is the name I shall go down with. I did the most good as this identity."

She arched a brow, a perfect smile curving her lips. "Haven't you been having ammunition issues recently? Are you certain your little bullets will work against me?" she taunted.

Remington's smile grew wider as he shrugged. "Let's find out."

* * *

Tegan snapped her cell phone shut angrily, stuffing it back into her pocket. "Damn it, Asi, why isn't Ewan answering his phone?"

Asmodius frowned, pulling out his cell phone to try again. He looked a little tired, as if he'd been using too much energy. She'd have to yell at him about that later. She and maybe only a handful of other people truly knew how much the Devil blood in his veins effected him when he used it. "You've been trying to call him for an hour, you said?" he asked, brows furrowing when the phone kept ringing and ringing.

"Yes! I went to the cemetary and talked with a few of the recent dead," she continued, pushing a piece of hair back over her ear. "They revealed that a hidden meeting was occuring in the Catacombs and that two of the Seven were here in Paris. I called Ewan to warn him and... nothing."

Asmodius hung his phone up as well, glancing at the necromancer as she began to pace. "Did you try getting Rosette?"

Tegan rolled her eyes, pinning him with an angry glare. "Of course I bloody tried! I'll bet any amount you want that the girl left her phone on the table at the house. And if that's the case, then- Hello?" A call was coming through while she was talking and she'd stopped to answer it. Her fierce glare softened and then became horror stricken as the person on the phone continued to scream loud enough to be heard by people passing by. "Aidan... Aidan, slow down! What? What do you mean the lab was burned down?" she exploded. "What? AIDAN! AIDAN, GET BACK ON THIS PHONE!" She blinked, staring at the now silent cell phone.

"What happened?" Asmodius demanded.

"The mansion was attacked," she whispered. "Aidan suspects that a servant was dabbling in the dark arts and opened a portal for Demons to enter through. They immediately went for the laboratory and destroyed everything. Aidan... I don't think he's alive any longer." God, his last act had been to call her and let her know their life's work was just destroyed.

"Come on, Tegan!" Asmodius grabbed her hand, guiding her down the nearest alley so he could drop the human disguise. Tegan held onto his waist tight, closing her eyes even tighter as his wings beat heavily, lifting them into the air. He was moving as quickly as he could so no humans would see, making straight for the astral lines that would take them to England quickly.

Tegan yelped when the lines snapped against her skin, flinging them far from Paris and into the airs above London, down further into the grey and green countryside. Asmodius pulled them out in a neck-jarring rush of speed, wings creaking as they took the impact of the landing. he'd barely set her down before she was running for the smoking mansion. All the windows had been broken out, the once pale rose colored bricks now a sooty black. all the fine oil paintings, the expensive furnishings... the servants. Tegan took a running leap over the bodies of three maids, obviously killed in the fire. She could still see their ghosts hovering in the air, weeping at the sudden taking of their lives. Before any rebuilding could be done, this ground needed to be sown with salt to prevent the spirits from resting.

The door to the laboratory was torn from its hinges, the little tunnel of steps almost burning hot as the metal sought to hold the fire heat inside it still. She ran down the steps, Asmodius right behind her, shouting for her to stop. She ignored him, but only until she finally entered the lab, slamming the remains of the steel door open. Broken glass, dark dried blood, bullet holes... all her assistant were dead. She wandered in, staring at the disaster of everything she'd ever fought to achieve, the six people she looked at like brothers. All of it just gone.

A strange gurgling sound drew her attention to the left before her jaw dropped and tears began to break loos down her pale cheeks. Aidan was pinned to the wall, arms spread and held in place by what looked like rosary beads stabbed through his hands and wrists, woven through the wall. His torso was a mangled ruin of slashes and burns, legs tight together and held with still more rosary beads. He crucified, and he was hanging upside down. "Oh... my... AIDAN!"

Tegan ran to him, wiping the blood oozing from his neck out of his face, trying to figure out how to get him down. She knew there wasn't much of a chance to save him, but she was still going to try, damn it! "Asmodius, help! Please, help me cut him down!" She studied the beads that seemed to have been woved through the wall itself and had no clue where to even start. How was she to get him down?

She leaned closer when Aidan tried to speak, voice barely working, lips moving with rough sounds coming out. When she was close enough to hear the whispered sounds, it made her sick to her stomach. "As... spy." Tegan was on her feet instantly, twirling around with her guns drawn... and spun right into the knife Asmodius was about to stab in her back. Her eyes widened in shock before she gasped, blood pouring from her mouth as he twisted the knife deeper into her lungs.


	13. Desperation

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry about the looong break! I was currently on vacation with my very dear friend, Shinigami's Wrath. Anyway, here's the newest chapter, and there's maybe only about three more. MAYBE. There might be one more if I feel it's needed. Sorry!

* * *

Asmodius watched as Tegan gasped and choked for breath, blood beginning to trickle from her parted lips. Her eyes were wide and full of a schocked pain as she stared up at him unblinking. He didn't need for her to speak to know she was asking him why, why he'd done this, why he'd sided with the Seven Sinners. His lip lifted in a contemptuous sneer. Humans... they could never understand what it was like being him, an outcast in all three worlds combined. So absorbed in their own petty little lives they didn't realize that bigger and badder things were out there. Pathetic, really.

Tegan continued to twitch a bit, eyes following him as he crouched beside her, running his fingers down her rapidly paling cheek. "Oh, don't act so surprised, my dear," he said condescendingly. "You are perhaps the only soul alive who knows what my childhood was really like. You know exactly why I did this. In exchange for bringing back Chrono and Rosette and binding them as one soul, I will be made into a full Devil. It's what I've yearned for since my parents died. I want the full measure of power granted to the Devils, I want to finally _belong_ somewhere! And, if I have to bring this world to an end to do it, I will."

"Y-You'll... kill...everyone?" she choked out, coughing as a flood of blood filled her mouth and spilled out, eyes closing briefly in pain.

"Of course! Why should I show mercy to those who showed no mercy to me? Do you have any idea what it was like growing up and not being accepted by any one. Not Devil, Angel or human, I was condemned to an existance of slurs and hatred. How do you think it felt to be ostracized from all planes of existance simply because your whore of a mother spread herself for a Devil so unworthy of being called pathetic that he came to live in _this_ world, with the weakest of living creatures?" He sighed, hefting the knife a little in his hand. "I do feel a bit guilty, Tegan, for killing you. For a human, you weren't entirely untolerable."

"B-B-Bastard! You'll... f-fail." Her eyes regained some of their usual defiance, but they were quickly being swallowed up by the stillness of death.

As fascinating as it was to watch someone's life fade away, Asmodius had other things he needed to do. Smiling, he leaned down and kissed her lips, licking the metalic blood from his mouth and enjoying how she tried to pull away from him even now. The blood was running from the hole in her stomach, unable to soak into her shirt anymore, and pooled along her side by her limp hand. "No, my dear, I won't. Everything is going exactly as planned. Rosette and Chrono will come to Chicago. They will find the meeting place where the Seven Sinners are gathered. And they will open the gates to the three worlds for us. After all, their combined souls are the last piece to the puzzle."

He drew back at the surprised cough from her, wiping the blood that arched from her mouth off of his suite. Asmodius smiled, stroking her curls back from her face. "I'm sorry. I wish I could sit with you until the end, but I simply can't. Good-bye, and please understand I didn't want to kill you. Unfortunately, you became a liability." Asmodius' hand whipped upward and down swiftly, jamming the knife blade into her chest so hard the hilt was half buried in her lungs. Tegan gasped, body arching off the ground a little before she dropped back, breath leaving her in a gurgling rush, eyes wide open but slowly relaxing from the surprised horror. He stayed only a moment longer, making sure she didn't move, before he left the laboratory, wiping his hands off on Aidan's lifeless body before sticking them into his pockets.

Memories of his past, brough up from the depths in which he tried to hide them, poured through his mind, made his chest tighten and aw ache from clenching it so tightly. He truly was the victim here, born into this world by one of God's chosen and Hell's worst. His father was weak, allowing himself to die like that just to protect his mother and himself. He remembered thinking that if love made someone so foolish as to stand and fight against hundreds instead of run and remain alive, then he didn't want anything to do with it. He could still see his father being hacked to pieces as he and his mother ran for their lives, escaping away from Paris and taking a train all the way to Rome where they sought the sanctity of the Vatican to protect them. The Vatican officials had taken one look at him and known he wasn't entirely human. He and his mother had been thrown out and left to fend for themselves.

And what of his mother? His very human, very frail mother... She died because her heart was broken. Broken because of love for his father. She didn't die in a fight or for any noble cause. She died because of love. It was the most disgusting and pathetic thing he'd ever witnessed in his life, and the driving reason behind his desire to become a full Devil. As an immortal Devil, he would have power and life far surpassing that of his mortal frame. It never showed on the outside, but inside he could feel himself slowly dying, slowly aging. He had long life, yes, but not the long life of his Devil father. And he would use it wisely, too. He wouldn't waste it on such a useless thing as love.

Mammon, the Sinner of Greed, had come to him shortly after his mother's death. He'd made the offer to him. _Join us and we will grant your deepest desire to you._ Until then, he'd only dabbled in the dark arts here or there, but after his meeting with Mammon, he'd taken up the study until he knew it inside and out, so well he could recite from almost any black book named word for word. He knew the difference between summoning a Devil and a Demon, he knew how to draw a soul from a person and hold it captive for them to do his will. And, it was around this time that he'd discovered his ability to summon hellfire, just a small amount, but it was enough to do the job.

Asmodius smiled as he left the burned out mansion, humming under his breath. Soon enough, and it would all be over. Chrono and Rosette were the key to the destruction of the three worlds. By marrying their souls into one, they had combined the powers of Earth, Heaven and Hell into one being. All that was needed was for them to consumate the marriage and make it a true joining of body and soul. Volupte was working on that. Once it was done, there was nothing to stop them from completing their plan. Rosette Christopher and Chrono the Sinner, sharing a soul made of the three worlds, was exactly the conduit they needed for bringing about utter destruction and chaos. He'd be a full Devil just as he wanted, and the Seven Sinners would have their new world just as they wanted. Everything was working out just perfectly!

* * *

In the stillness of the ruined lab, a rattling gasp of air broke through the silence. Tegan opened here eyes weakly, fingers touching the blood pooling under her. She had to warn them about Asmodius. She had to... Slowly, she reached up, fingers trailing across Aidan's dead, cold lips. Her hand fell back to the ground limply, the coldness starting to spread over her body. She didn't have much time left now, not much time at all. Already the darkness was eating away at her vision, her eyes growing heavier and harder to keep open.

"Rise... Aidan," she whispered, almost no sound at all escaping through the blood clogging her throat, making it difficult for her to suck air down into her lungs without the thick fluid going with it. "With these... words... I summon... you. Rise... Aidan... with this blood..."

Aidan's eyes flew open, body spasming as he took a great, gulping breath of air. None of the wounds closed up like they normally would have, but she was dying so she couldn't expect much from her power. She could feel it like a cord drawn between her and the corpse of her assistant, now serving as her messenger. Aidan looked at her, eyes dark and empty. "You called me, mistress?" he hissed, voice rattling in his torn throat.

"S-Stay... here. Tell Ewan. Tell him about... Asmodius," she said, her arms now completely numb and unwilling to move. "S-S-Stay... here... tell Ewan..."

"Yes, mistress."

Satisfied her zombie would do as she instructed, Tegan finally gave way to the heaviness in her eyes, letting her lids drift close and the blessed numbness sweep her under completely.

* * *

Remington hissed sharply as the pike swung out, slicing down his chest in a painful line. It wasn't deep, but the blood mingling with his sweat was not the most comfortable of feelings.

Anamalech wheeled away, standing a good eight feet from him in the blink of an eye. She wasn't even phased, the only signs his bullets had even hit her being the dried blood on his robes. No open wounds or anything. She waited for him to recover, blue eyes glowing in the darkened alley way, pike lowered toward him defensively. "What does it feel like, Ewan?" she asked. "How does it feel to have your wings cut?"

"Are you just being sadistic, Ana, or do you really want to know?" he answered, standing straight again and casually dropping the empty clips from his gun. He didn't need to worry about Anamalech attacking while he reloaded. The Angel of Death was very predictable in the fact that she loved to toy with her prey. How very sad that she'd lived so many thousands of years and not changed one bit. He felt bad for her.

"I'm actually curious, Ewan. Humans and Devils can feel things like this. Tell me, what was it like to experience the absence of His power for the first time?"

Chuckling to himself, he met her gaze and said softly, "It was the most horrible experience of my life... and I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Anamalech smiled softly. "If I'm the sadist, then you must be the masochist. Are you ready to continue?"

He nodded, shaking the longer pieces of his hair from his eyes, now damp with sweat and clinging to his skin. "Yes, I would say so."

"Very well then!" She swung at him, faster than lightening, faster than a snake strike. Just... supernaturally fast. He dodged each swipe of that curved, deadly blade, ducking back, sinking low, jumping away. She kept pressing him, edging him back further into the alley, hoping to pin his back to the brick wall at the end. Remington squeezed off a few rounds, all of them finding a home in her body before disappearing as if they'd never existed. Anamalech pressed on, features screwed into a look of sheer concentration. They'd been going at it for almost three hours, and he was the only one showing any signs of weakening. Blast it all!

Remington swirved to one side as they approached the brick wall, maneuvering himself out of that very bad position. Anamalech smiled, backing off a little as he kept her trained down the barrel of his guns. "I'm glad to see you've not lost all of your skill," she commented.

"I'm sorry to see you've not lost any of yours," he replied, smiling back at her.

She laughed softly, swinging the staff around her hands expertly, watching him the entire time. "You only have two bullets left.

His smile turned grim. "I'm aware of that." Come on, be predictable... do it...

Anamalech moved in to attack, preparing herself to take the hits from his last bullets.

Remington dropped the guns, leaving the bullets in them untouched, and drew from behind his back a golden cross. It flared to life in his hand, his weapon of old, a sword forged in Heaven and blessed by God himself. The two weapons connected, sparking before breaking apart. Anamalech backed away, eyes narrowed angrily as she looked along his sword.

"I'm surprised you were allowed to keep that thing," she said coldly.

"It was a gift from the Lord. He would never take back something He gave. It's just plain rude."

"And do you think it will give you the upper hand here?"

Remington shrugged, swinging the blade around over his shoulder in preparation for the attack he knew would come. "That was the plan, my dear. Seeing as I have very little real power to use against you." There, that should do the trick! He said a quick, silent prayer that Anamalech would remain as predictable as she'd consistantly been for this fight. Please, please, please...

Her skin began to take on a white and golden light, eyes shining like the brilliance of a summer blue sky. Her golden hair flared about her, caught in the light shining from her halo. "I've grown tired of your arrogance! Time to end this for good!" Her wings unfurled, a white glory at her back that extended a little out behind her and down the alley. She rushed at him, bringing the curve of her pike toward his throat.

Remington ducked it, slipping low under her wildly swinging free arm as he kept one hand pressed to her hip. He whipped around, using the hand on her to push her forward and off her balance, sending her to her knees. His sword whistled through the air... and right through the joints on her wings. The white feathers turned grey and then black before crumbling to ash and being blown away.

Anamalech screamed in pain, body arching wildly as her staff fell clattering to the pavement. "MY WINGS! YOU TOOK MY WINGS!"

He stepped around before her, keeping the point of his sword under her chin as she continued to wail in agonizing misery, tears streaming from her shocked eyes. "Well, naturally, Ana. I didn't stand a chance against you in your glory. I told you it was the most excruciating thing, didn't I?"

"God, please have mercy... kill me now," she begged, hugging herself as the sobs continued to wrack through her.

Remington waited a fraction of a second more before lowering his sword, letting the holy blade return to its cross form. He stepped away from her, picking up his guns and reholstering them. As he prepared to walk away and leave her there, he bent down and whispered by her ear, "You were the one to give me the idea in the first place, Anamalech." He continued on as she screamed after him, screamed all sorts of vile things and tried to goade him into coming back and finishing the job.

"EWAN! NOT MAN ENOUGH TO FINISH ME OFF? I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THE ANGEL OF MERCY WAS WEAK! EWAN REMINGTON, DO YOU HEAR ME? I SAID YOU'RE WEAK! DAMN YOU! FINE, GO AHEAD, RUN OFF TO YOUR PRECIOUS NECROMANCER! SHE'S TOO FAR AWAY FOR YOU TO GET TO IN TIME! HER SOUL WILL BELONG TO SATAN SOON ENOUGH!"

That got his full attention as he turned around and walked back to her, stomach clenching painfully. "What did you just say?" he demanded.

Anamalech's eyes were near savage in her delight, lips twisted into a cold sneer. "You heard me," she spat out. "You better hurry to your necromancer if you want to say goodbye. After I was done with you, I was going to go collect her. She was the next on my list!"

He grabbed the front of her robes, yanking her hard off her knees a bit. "Where? Where is Tegan?"

She laughed bitterly and said, "I'll tell you if you kill me afterward. I won't live with this shame, I simply won't!"

Remington flung her away from him in disgust. "You wanted to know what it was like to have your wings cut. You are going to live with that decision," he said coldly, turning his back on her even as his mind raced.

"Then find her yourself, you coward! You won't reach her in time! She'll be dead before you ever learn where she is! DO YOU HEAR ME? SHE'LL BE DEAD!"

He continued out into the busy night streets of Paris, shoving his way through the crowds of people. Tegan... He had to find her! He'd check the house first, hopefully bump into the others. If she wasn't there... then where? Somewhere in the city? It wouldn't be impossible to search, but it would take some time, time they didn't have.

Remington felt his phone vibrate again, alerting him to a missed call. He yanked it out angrily only to have that anger fade when he saw it was Tegan that had called him twelve times while he'd been fighting. He quickly skipped through all the messages, each of them becoming more worried and annoyed that he wasn't picking up until he got to the last one recorded.

_"Hey... it's just me again. Listen, I'm with Asmodius right now, outside La Cafe du Monde about a block up from the house. Um... just call to make sure everything's alright. Also, if you can find Chrono and- oh, sorry, Aidan's on the other line! Just... call me, okay?"_

He hung up the phone and began sprinting down the street, ignoring the pain lancing through his chest as the wound was pulled and stretched, ignoring the people staring at him or cursing him as he shoved by them. He knew exactly where Tegan was now. If she received a call from the lab, then she was most likely there with Asmodius.

But first, before he went there, he needed to check the house for Chrono and Rosette. He just hoped they were there!

* * *

Volupte leaned back in the seat of the limo as the driver finally pulled away from the curb, still licking her lips as the human girl's orgasm lingered in her body. A virgin's first time... how delicious! It made up for the fact that she couldn't sense Chrono's lust at all. Her powers didn't work on Devils, which was a shame. A virgin with an experienced sinner... that must have been simply amazing! Unfortunately, she would never know for certain how amazing it must have been for the Sinner Chrono, but at least she'd endulged in Rosette's first time. Besides, she wasn't there for her own desires, she was there to make sure the two did finally copulate. Finding out Rosette Christopher honestly WAS a virgin had only been a bonus. It was them together that truly mattered. The plan was no good if they remained unwed in body as well.

Asmodius had done a good job this time. No one had been there to interupt the two, which was very good indeed. To open the gates to the three worlds, they needed someone who possessed qualities from Earth, Heaven and Hell. At first, they had been prepared to use Asmodius for this purpose, but unfortunately Mammon had taken a liking to him and refused to allow that to happen. She couldn't understand men who found other men more desireable than herself, but she could respect their passion greatly. It wasn't until Aira had freed Aion that the idea of bringing back his old nemesis came about. Poetic justice at it's best.

The limo slowed down and stopped on the side of the road to let Belphagor back in. Immediately, he flung himself down into a seat, picking dried blood out from his perfectly manicured claws. "So, has the conduit been prepared?" he asked lightly, eyes flicking up to her before he smiled. "Yes, I can see it was. You're practically glowing, Volupte. Was the human's orgasm really that fulfilling?"

Volupte favored him with a smile, sinking back a little into her own seat. "It's been a long time since I've tasted new lust, Belphagor. Too long indeed."

"Oh-ho, so Aion hadn't lied about her being untouched? How simply marvelous for you then, my dear!"

"And everything at the mansion?"

Belphagor sighed dramatically, leaning over as far as he could without moving to open the bar and pull out a deep, red merlot. "It ws a damned nuisance and a bother, but yes, all is well there. All the humans are dead, the place gutted. No one will suspect the half-breed of any wrong doing."

She leaned forward and took the wine from him when he held it out, too lazy to remove the cork himself. She didn't mind, just this once, to humor him. He'd done his job above and beyond what was expected out of him... and she was in a very good mood. Volupte poured them both a glass of the thick burgundy fluid, toasting him delicately. "To the end of the world."

"Jolly good, I can hardly wait!" They both sipped their wine down as the driver continued on to their hotel room.


	14. Reuniting With The Past

Remington winced as the slashes criss crossing his stomach and chest pulled a little. People were staring and whispering to themselves, hurrying by him with furtive glances. He knew he must look positively dreadful, but what did one expect when fighting the Angel of Death? He rested himself against the door of the house briefly, closing his eyes to try and stop the adrenaline from coursing through his head, before trying the knob and finding it unlocked. Someone had to be here then. He drew his fingers back when they felt something sticky, coming away with flakey bits of dried blood. Whoever was here was hurt. For a fleeting moment, his hope that it was Tegan surfaced, even though his gut told him she wasn't here at all. Slowly, he pushed the door open, shoving it flat against the wall before stepping in quietly.

"Rosette? Chrono?" He reloaded his guns, keeping them out and ready in case it was another trick, moving slowly and at a crouch toward the stairs going up, pausing before he rushed around corners, guns first. No strong amounts of power that he could feel, no stirrings of evil in the air. The house was entirely still and silent...

_Thud!_

Eyes narrowing, Remington walked up the stairs cautiously, trying to keep to one side and out of the creaking middle section. He kept his breathing low and controled, moving cautiously down the hall, switching from one side to the other depending on where the doors were spaced. Another thud sounded, coming from Asmodius' room. And... voices. Whispered, so he couldn't understand them completely. He paused outside the door, listening.

"Chrono!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Now I've got a hole in my shirt!"

He relaxed instantly, shoulders hunching forward and a relieved sigh breaking his lips. It was just Chrono and Rosette. Remington opened the door and stepped into the room quickly. They had to hurry if they expected to find Tegan. "We have an emer- may I ask what exactly you two have been doing?" He blinked, looking from one to the other of them. Oh, dear...

Rosette's cheeks were nearly as red as Chrono's, who was in his smaller form again. Neither one would look at him or each other. Chrono was trapped in the struggle to get his shirt untangled from around his shoulders, belt hanging loose from his jeans. Rosette had obviously just gotten her jeans back on and was trying to turn her shirt right side in. No one moved for the longest time.

Rosette finally snapped out of the startled trance enough to blush even darker and quickly cover her bra with her shirt, a nervous sweat beading her brow. "F-Father... I mean, Ewan... what a... what a surprise! See, it's like this, uh..."

"... We... got hurt," Chrono filled in quickly, finally managing to tug his dark t-shirt down in place. "We went into the Catacombs and..."

"...And got attacked," Rosette supplied helpfully.

"Yes! Then we had to make a dash for it, back here-,"

"-Where we had to take care of... our... injuries?" She gulped as Remington stepped further into the room. Her eyes squeezed shut as he tilted her head to one side, exposing the dark red spot on her neck with two tiny puncture marks. Fangs if ever he saw them.

"And I'm only going to assume one of these injuries came from... a Devil who leaves hickeys?" he asked in pleasant enough tones. Pleasantry was such a nice way of covering up his own embarassment for having nearly walked in on... THAT.

"Ahahaha..." Rosette laughed nervously, quickly ducking ehr head back down. "About that..." Chrono smacked a hand over his eyes, but it did nothing to hide that his cheeks now rivaled the color of cherries.

"We can discuss this later if you wish, but right now we need to get back to the mansion," he cut in quickly, stopping any further explainations on her part. He truly did NOT need to go in in their private, married life.

"What happened?" she asked, quickly getting her shirt on so she wasn't cowering in nothing but her bra, shoes and blue jeans.

"That's what I'm not sure about. I believe something's happened to Tegan, and if we don't hurry, she may die. Chrono, can you get us there?"

The Devil nodded once firmly, passing Rosette her guns and thigh length brown leather jacket.

"Then let's not waste anymore time here."

All three of them hurried down the stairs and out the back of the house into the alley way. Rosette opened the seal for Chrono to change forms once again. It was pitch dark now, so they didn't need to worry as much about prying eyes. Remington swallowed heavily and closed his eyes tightly, fingers digging into the leather over Chrono's shoulder. "Just make this as quick as possible, please," he muttered, not at all relieved to hear the Devil laugh softly to himself. The sharp jerk of them leaving the ground sharply made his stomach lurch and churn, the lack of concrete under his feet momentarily horrifying. Once this mission was done, he would see to it that he NEVER flew again!

* * *

Aion knocked softly on the partially opened door, waiting only a few polite seconds before pushing it open enough for him to step in. Joshua was still curled up on the bed, back to him and fully dressed. He'd told the boy to at least take his shoes off, but, as usual, Joshua had decided to ignore him. No matter, it wasn't _his_ bed getting dirty and having Satan-knew-what dragged into it. His gaze flickered over to the tray of untouched food one of the human slaves had brought up. The soup had long ago cooled and congealed into a thick paste with skin over it. The chicken looked withered and dry. The pistachio ice cream was a melted mess. That irritated him a little. He'd scoured every 7-11 personally for that particular brand of ice cream. It was Joshua's favorite... and all his efforts had been ignored.

"Joshua?" he asked, putting just a bit of an authoritative edge to the question. He understood why the boy was upset, but this wasn't good for him, not by any means. Joshua had gained eternal life and youth through their contract. That didn't mean he could go without eating, however. "Joshua, look at me."

"She didn't come, Aion," Joshua mumbled, still refusing to roll over and face him. "She was right there, right within reach of saving... and she still went with _him_!"

Aion allowed a brief, triumphant smile before sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking his clawed hand carefully down the back of Joshua's jacket. Joshua was always so easy to pursuade. The boy truly believed his sister was being held captive by Chrono. How marvelous. Oh, he did feel a little bad for having deceived Joshua. After all, despite what others may believe, he did care for Joshua a great deal. Such wide eyed innocence of the world, such a carefree and happy boy... it was refreshing after so many years of being jaded. Joshua was a breath of fresh air in his life, from the very start of things. And now, with one little lie, the boy was completely and utterly his.

"Why did she run from me? I'm her _brother_, Aion! Why did she run from me to _him_?"

"Joshua, try to understand that your sister is not in full possession of her wits. She's been conditioned for years that when Chrono beckons, she responds. We can fight his power over her, but we can't fight her mind. Only she can win that battle." Utter rubbish! He understood better than anyone how unique the contract between Rosette and Chrono was. Any other Devil would have exerted their dominance in the relationship years back. Chrono didn't, and that was his downfall. He loved his contractor. He would die with a smile on his face for her. Love couldn't move mountains, but it could kill your enemy.

"How are we supposed to get her back then? She won't come willingly, and Chrono won't let her go," Joshua complained bitterly, finally rolling over onto his back. His blue eyes, a slight shade lighter than Rosette's, were gleaming angrily in the moonlight.

Aion smiled down at him, ruffling his hair. "We just keep trying," he replied. "Don't worry, Joshua, we _will_ get her back. Even as we speak, she's heading this way now, intent to destroy all that the Seven Sinners have created. All we need to do is be patient and wait."

Joshua finally smiled, pulling his head free from Aion's hand. "If you say so, Aion."

"I do. Now, I'm going to send someone up with fresh food, and you're going to eat it. We can't have you wasting away, now can we?" He stood up, smiling down at Joshua quickly before leaving the room.

* * *

"What... the..." Rosette never finished what she was about to say as they discovered the lab and mansion in complete ruins, the building and ground still smoking from an obvious fire. Almost the entire eastern wing siding had been ripped clean off, like a giant jaw full of razor sharp teeth had taken a bite and spit it out almost a hundred feet away from where it originally stood. Inside the large, formal dining room the was exposed on the ground floor, the enormous crystal chandelier dangled precariously from the ceiling, still held in place by the electrical wires, which here popping and sparking from the strain. The long cherry wood table was smashed in three different places, the antique china strewn across the remains of a Persian rug. Rosette took Chrono's hand when he offered it, helping her step over the remains of a wall and inside the disaster zone.

Remington was already shoving his way through the rubble, kicking the burned out door easily from it's hinges as he called loudly for Tegan and Asmodius. Rosette continued to gape around the massacred mansion, closing her eyes briefly when she saw the arm of a maid that looked like it had been ripped off and stuck onto one if the fireplace tools. Other pieces of bodies, some still connected to the rest of the body it belonged to while others were scattered throughout, peeked out from the mess and chaos of destroyed furniture and crumbled plaster walls. The air was so cold it made her skin crawl. Something was still here, something not-so-nice. It didn't feel like a Devil or a Demon. This was something she'd never come up against before.

"Chrono?" she whispered softly, knowing he had to have felt the strange aura, too.

"Ghouls," he whispered back, crimson eyes narrowing. His entire body had a tenseness to it that said he was expecting an attack at anytime.

"Ghouls?" That was something new! "How'd they get here?" Rosette turned, gun pointed when she heard a noise come from further in the dining room. Rats or mice. Or maybe even crows. There was no way anything could have survived this.

"There's a theory that wherever a necromancer's body lies, unless the grave is blessed and consecrated with salt and holy water, the dead around it rise and go mad. They become ghouls."

"Then what's the difference between ghouls and zombies?"

"Zombies are controled. Ghouls aren't."

Oh. That made a heck of alot of difference! "So, does this mean Tegan..."

Chrono let out a soft trickle of a growl before following after Remington quickly. Rosette scurried after him, glancing back again when she heard another noise. Was that someone moaning? Any thoughts of going back to check were stopped when gun shots echoed, coming from the stairs that used to lead down into the lab. They both broke into a run, Chrono moving in a blur of speed that she was struggling to match. Usually he ran alot faster than she did. Maybe she was just getting faster herself?

"Stay here, Rosette!" Chrono shouted as he leaped down into the hole down in the lab. Shadows flickered in the occassional light of more electrical sparks, showing that there was alot more than just a few people down there. Gunshots registered again, making her jump, fingers twitching around her own gun. She waited a few more seconds, listening to the shouts and the high pitched screeching sounds from below before, lips pressing together firmly as she holstered her gun, she jumped down herself after saying a quick prayer that the bottom wasn't too far away or full of sharp rocks. She hit the ground and instinctively stayed low as she somersaulted away from the thick arm swinging at her head.

Rosette rose into a kneeling position, firing six rounds into the chest of the person in the shadows. It screamed, the sound so high and sharp it hurt her ears, before lunging at her, hands covered in greyish, peeling skin, eyes wide and tinged yellow around the edges. She quickly dove backward again, pushing to her feet with her attacker right in front of her. It leaped out into the dim lights of the broken wires and red emergency lights, snarling with fingers curved as if ready to rip her face off. Her eyes widened when she recognized what used to be a white lab coat on the ghoul.

"ROSETTE!"

Chrono rushed by her tackling the ghoul around the waist shortly before ripping it to pieces with brutally accurate slices of his claws. When he whipped back around to face her, eyebrows drawn together fiercely over glowing crimson eyes, he had bits of grey flesh clinging to him all over. "Rosette, you can't be down here! They're drawn to human flesh and blood!"

"Well, you should have said that BEFORE hand," she snapped, getting to her feet angrily. "You know there's no way I'm staying out of a fight, not without a good reason! And that's a VERY good reason!" She spun around, guns blazing as another ghoul came up behind her, jaw practically unhinged and plunging for her shoulder. She fired directly into it's gaping mouth, blasting through until the upper portion of it's head fell free from the lower portion.

A machine gun rattlled, every fifthe bullet marked with a tracer so it lit up and the line of fire could be followed. Rosette and Chrono both ducked as those bullets came slicing in their direction. Remington was backed into a corner, firing away in a half circle directly through the bodies. The two halves of each ghoul fell away, the lower half twitching while the upper still tried to claw toward him. Normally, cutting a body in half with a gun was impossible, but with a high powered machine gun like the one he was toting, not only was it possible, it was incredibly messy as well. Entrails splattered on the ground, all of them distended and bluish from the lack of regular blood flow in thei former shells.

"A little help would be greatly appreciated," Remington called over to them, kicking the first ghoul's jaw clean off as it layed a boney hand to his ankle.

Chrono responded, rushing to the first ghoul and ripping it's head off completely before moving the the next and the next after it. Remington ran through the path Chrono formed for him, tossing the now empty machine gun aside and pulling two smaller hand guns from his belt. "Let's get out of her, and fast," he ordered, taking a runing leap up a slab of concrete to grab hold of a metal pipe that had snapped from the floor above. He pulled himself up onto the ground floor, disappearing directly from sight. "Oh... lovely!"

Rosette was up after him, Chrono jumping without aid of the pipe to land beside her. It wasn't long before they noticed what was so 'lovely'. Before them was an army of ghouls. All the former maids and butlers, cooks and grounds keepers. All of them had been rendered into ghouls, eyes burning yellow and skin a sickly ash color. From below in the lab, they could here groaning, the scrabbling of nails on rock as the shredded ghouls from below still tried to pull their way toward them. Rosette swallowed heavily, gun pointed before her at the shuffling, insane corpses slowly closing in around them. Corpses... that's all they were. She couldn't think of them as having been living people, or she might not be able to shoot them. Just walking, groaning, drooling... corpses.

Her finger was about to squeeze down on the trigger when a strong arm circled her waist tightly, pulling her in against a hard chest. "Hey, Chrono, what's the big idea?"

"Hold on!" he cautioned moments before they were airborn, heading for the gaping hole in the roof. The whistling of hands snatching through the air where moments ago they'd stood brushed her ankles, followed closely by Remington muttering the Lord's Prayer assailing her ears. Glancing over at the older man, she noticed his eyes were squeezed shut tightly, hands clinging so hard to Chrono the knuckles were white. It was a strange thing to see someone she'd thought wasn't afraid of anything this scared of flying.

"Where to?" Chrono asked as he surged upward into the astral lines, the shock of those great rivers of power rushing over her skin like static electric shocks.

"New York," Remington said between praying. "We need to contact the Order immediately.

"What happened to Tegan?" Rosette asked, unable to wait any longer for the answers. Chrono had said ghouls come out when a necromancer dies. But surely...

Remington's eyes opened, and the deep rooted sadness there was answer enough. "I'll explain when we land," he said softly.

Rosette tucked herself in closer to Chrono, letting the warmth and closeness of him comfort her. His arm tightened around her just as the first tear slipped down her cheek.

* * *

Mary grumbled and rolled over in bed, ignoring the soft, persistant sound of someone knocking on her door. It was 3 in the morning, for crying out loud! It seemed the more she tried to ignore the sound, the louder and more insistant it got. Finally, scowling and promising an extra load of chores for whoever woke her up, she sat up, ignoring the aching of her protesting joints, cinched her robe tight around her waist and shuffled sleepily to the door. "What, and make it fast and important. Even nun's need their beauty sleep," she snapped, yanking the door open.

One of the stationary nuns dressed in the traditional blue habit practically bowed as she held out the cordless phone for her. Mary blinked from the girl to the phone and back again. "Forgive me, Mother Superior, but the man on the phone said it was important and that you _would_ take his call."

"It's always important when they call up," she muttered, still staring at the phone. "Did he say who he was?"

"Yes. He said his name was Remington. Father Ewan Remington."

Mary felt the breath almost leave her at that. For a second, she could almost swear she was having another heart attack. "Did... did you just say... Father _Remington_?" She hadn't heard that name in almost seventy years! It couldn't be him. He would be well over a hundred by now.

"Yes, Mother Superior."

Hesitantly, as if the phone were a snake with long, pointy fangs, Mary pressed it to her ear, cleared her throat, and asked softly, "Hello?"

"Good morning, Sister Mary! Sorry to disturb you so early, but I was wondering if you would mind having a brief chat with myself and a couple of colleagues."

Mary nearly dropped the phone in shock to hear that familiar voice again.

* * *

Rosette stared up at the plain brown brick building, up six stories at rows of dingy, barred windows. A wrought iron fence complete with curved spikes ran around the entire complex, the only thing showing that the building was cared for being the well trimmed lawn leading back. her back stiffened as a figure emerged from the door, walking down the sidewalk path. The shadows cast from the light over the front door hid her features, but it was obvious the girl was wearing the blue militia uniform of the Magdalene Order. Rosette swallowed heavily, memories circling back from the time she used to wear that exact same gear.

"Welcome," the girl said, surprisingly cheerful for almost four in the morning. "My name's Sister Clarise, I'm the Mother Superior's assistant." All the while she spoke, she was sorting through a massive ring of keys attached to her belt, trying to find the one that would unlock the gate. She finally found it, pushing it in and turning it before the rusty hinges creaked open. "Please, if you would follow me. Mother Mary is waiting in her office."

The three filed in, Chrono now in his small form again. He'd transformed as soon as they'd touched down in New York and Rosette had been over come with dizziness. He'd been in his true form for more than twelve hours nearly straight. That was the longest they'd ever gone without her getting weak. Rosette hesitated outside the gate as Remington and Chrono started forward. Sister Clarise remained at the gate, smiling patiently as Rosette stalled.

"Rosette?" Chrono asked softly, turning to look back over his shoulder.

She hugged herself, rubbing her arms as a chill that had nothing to do with weather and everything to do with nerves sank into her bones. "Sorry, just... you know. It's been a long time," she explained, offering up a tentative smile.

Chrono smiled back as he walked over to her, holding his hand out. She took it, her smile softening as he twined his fingers with hers, pressing their palms together. He surprised her by leaning in for a quick kiss on the cheek, shocking the heck out of the young nun standing not even two feet from them. "It's jake," he said softly. "I'm kind of nervous, too. The last time we saw Mary, she was younger than you."

Rosette laughed faintly at that, blushing when she realized she could still feel his lips against her cheek. After what happened at the house... Thinking back on that made the blush spread even darker. "And what's with the whole kissing me in a convent thing, huh? You're such a dirty Devil!"

He chuckled, knowing she was joking to lighten the mood. "I guess I didn't think about that. Sorry."

"It's jake, I forgive you."

"I was apologizing to Sister Clarise, actually."

Rosette glared at him as he stepped away, all argument dying when she saw the teasing smile on his face. It was the one that brought out the dimple in his younger face, the one that made his eyes light up like rubies caught in the sun. Answering his smile with one of her own, she pushed passed him, waving absently over her shoulder at the still startled nun. "Yeah, sorry about that! He just can't keep his hands off me, y'know?"

"ROSETTE!"

"Well, it's true! After all, I'm just soooo irresistable?" She tossed a coy, flirty look over her shoulder at the two horrified expressions behind her. "Well, Pookie-Bear, are you coming or what?"

Mumbling about the ridiculous nickname, Chrono glowered up at her as they followed Remington inside. The older man was waiting outside a set of double doors, probably leading to an elevator. He smiled at them, but it faded around the edges when he noticed the glare being directed at Rosette from the Devil beside her. "Did I miss something?" he questioned.

"Nope, not a thing!" Rosette replied cheerfully. "Isn't that right, Shmookie-nookums?"

"That's even worse than the first one," Chrono exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry Diddly-Dums."

"Rosette, come on!"

"What's wrong, Bunnykins?"

"I MEAN IT! THOSE ARE JUST AWFUL!"

Remington rolled his eyes before rubbing them as the beginnings of a headache came on. The doors slid shut on Rosette throwing yet another disgusting nickname at Chrono, only to have him deny it even louder than before. This was going to be such an exhausting reunion, he decided. Perhaps Mary had a stash of sacrificial wine somewhere...

The doors grinding open stopped the name calling, which had started to reach it's most Godawful with 'Wittle-Ittle-Devidoodle'. Even Remington had cringed at that one, glancing down at Chrono begging Rosette to stop and sounding very near tears at the horrendously creative nicknames. The girl was absolutely without mercy! He hurried off the elevator, glad to be leaving the argument behind, if only briefly.

Rosette and Chrono stared at the open doors for a second, neither of them making a move to follow Remington. Neither one had to ask what the other was thinking, they were both on the same page. This was Sister Mary. The one who used to swoon over stories of Chrono. The one Rosette used to chase around with frogs she'd caught in the creek. This was ten-year-old Mary... eighty years later. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Rosette reached for the hand she already knew would be there, fingers squeezing tightly around his. "Well, this is it," she said.

"Yeah," Chrono replied.

Glancing at each other one more time, they stepped out at the same time and walked down the hall to where Remington was waiting outside a closed door.

The door knob jiggled a little before it finally opened onto a well lit, comfy looking office. And, in the door way and dressed in the full out habit of the Mother Superior, was Sister Mary. A wrinkled hand came to lips thinned with age, the deep furrows under her eyes making the dulled-down blue shade look sunken into her face. Tears trembled along those bleary eyes as she took a step forward, reaching a shaking hand out to them.

"Oh, my... Rosette. It's you! I... I can't belive... after all these years... It's really you!"

Rosette froze as thin, frail arms circled her waist tightly, pulling her into the small frame that shook with tears. Slowly, awkwardly, she put her own arms around the slightly hunched back, jaw still dropped in surprise at the change in her old friend.


	15. A Brief Filler Chapter, Sort Of

It felt like forever until Sister Mary (_Mother_ Mary, Rosette corrected herself) finally let her go, sniffling as she struggled to keep happy tears back. She managed to force a smile for her friend, even though it was really uncomfortable to see her so... old. Mary had been even younger than herself when she'd... well, when she'd disappeared. It was hard to imagine this frail looking woman with deep wrinkles and bleary eyes as the same girl who used to go chasing after Chrono in the compound.

"Rosette Christopher... good golly, you look good for your age," Mary teased with a hoarse chuckle. "Come in, come in! No good standing in the doorway, y'know. Clarisse, go get some tea."

"Yes, Mother," the young nun said with a polite little curtsy before brushing quickly by Remington in the door way.

"You come in as well, Father Remington. And shut the door behind you," Mary ordered, her gnarled hand gripping Rosette's and guiding her stiffly into the room. Rosette let herself get seated in a large, comfy chair, Chrono sitting on the floor next to her while Remington occupied the other chair. He looked a little pale and dark circles were under his eyes. It was hard to tell if he was still shaken from the flying or over what they discovered at the mansion.

"Now," Mary began, easing herself with a slight flinching to her face into the chair behind her desk. "It's been ages since I last saw any of you. Father, you vanished almost sixty years ago. Rosette and Chrono... well, needless to say I've got more questions than my old brain can think to form about how you two came to be here. So, who's going to start? I have a feeling that little gossip-bee, Clarisse, will be very busy spreading around stories about you three right now, so we've got a little bit of a wait for our tea. Tell me what's going on now. Which nasty Devil is trying to destroy the world this time?"

Father Remington took up the story from the very beginning. For the most part, Mary stayed quiet and listened, occassionally asking a few questions about small details or little comments in regards to incidents that occurres. A sly grin lit her face up when she heard about the wedding. "Always knew you two were hot for each other," she teased.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about," Rosette replied, putting on an air of indifference. She hadn't been hot for Chrono then... maybe. And besides, even if she was, what did Mary know about it?

Mary chuckled lightly, folding her hands on the desk. "Oh, no need to play innocent here. We ALL knew you were a crappy nun!"

Rosette began to bristle at the comment, but was quickly cut off when Chrono let a little chuckle escape. Scowling, she shoved his shoulder roughly and demanded, "Just what do you find so funny about that?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," Chrono quickly replied before carefully hiding his flushed face.

"That's what I thought!"

"And so," Remington interupted with a firm look in their direction. "We tracked the Seven Sinners to Paris. We ran into some trouble there, myself with an old rival, and Chrono and Rosette in the Catacombs. It was after we all became separated that we discovered our counterparts were back in England and in danger themselves. We immediately went there only to find the mansion destroyed and overrun with ghouls."

"And this was because the necromancer, Tegan, had died?" Mary asked solomnly, closing her eyes with a sympathetic expression on her face.

"Worse, actually," he replied, voice softening a little. "I went directly to the laboratory to search for her there. She was dead, but she left us a message. With her dying blood, she turned one of her assistants into a functioning, conscious zombie."

Rosette's attention was immediately arrested by the older man, her fingernails pressing into the chair arms hard. Chrono's fingers rubbed her leg through the blue jeans, letting her know without words that he was there with her. Her heart was pounding hard, making breathing difficult, as Remington continued after briefly clearing his throat.

"Aidan, her former assistant, informed me that Tegan was killed by Asmodius, the very halfbreed that helped in resurrecting Chrono and Rosette. He had been spying for the Seven the entire time, helping them with their plans."

"Wait... this same Asmodius who betrayed you was Asmaria Hendrick's son?" Mary asked incredulously.

Remington nodded once, closing his eyes. The silence that fell on the room after that brief confirmation was thick with unsaid words. How could someone who claimed Asmaria as their mother even THINK about doing something so evil? What did the Seven Sinners promise him to make him agree in the first place? And why would he agree to help them when it meant destroying everything?

"Well... this certainly was an eyefull of apple juice," Mary said after taking a shaky breath. "Now, a couple things have occurred to me while listening to all this that I'm sure you, Father, have at least guessed. First of all, am I correct in assuming you need the help of the Order to defeat the Seven Sinners in Chicago?"

"Precisely, Mother."

"Ah. Well then, later this morning I'll put a call into the Bishop to see what can be done. Second, you will probably want use of the library we have in the basement. This Asmodius obviously had another motive for bringing Chrono and Rosette back, and it certainly wasn't a noble one at that. I'll wake a few of the priests up and set them about pulling any information we have on the Seven Sinners out and get them going on that."

"You might want them to look up anything specific about Chicago," Chrono suggested quietly. "Rosette and I discovered that the churches there were built so that they all formed a pentagram with one church in the middle. I think that's the one were the ceremony is going to take place. We also heard something about a conduit or a key for opening the gates."

Mary was scribbling as fast as her heavy jointed fingers could move, mumbling his words under her breath. "And you have no idea what this key could be, Chrono?"

The Devil shook his head solomnly. "The only destruction prophecy I'd ever heard of was the one Aion tried eighty years ago. This is something either very new or so ancient it was before my time."

The old woman continued to mutter and hastily scrawl her notes down. With a final, sharp jab of her pen to put in the last period, she sat back and rotated her wrist with a sigh. "Damned carpal tunnel, always making things more difficult. Come in!" she called when a light tap came to the door.

Sister Clarisse was back with a tray of tea. She smiled kindly as she set it down on the desk and proceded to pour them all a cup. "Mother Mary, Father Breuwig was wondering what all the comotion was about up here," she stated quietly.

Mary rolled her eyes and made a splutter of irritation, waving the complaint away with a flick of her hand. "Tell Thomas Breuwing he needs to just mind his own business! This is Order affairs, not church."

"Should I... tell him _exactly _that?" the young nun questioned nervously.

"Of course not, silly girl! Just... just tell him that I am handling things and should I need his assistance I will humbly request it."

Sister Clarisse let out a relieved sigh and curtsied again. "Of course, Mother. Please call should you need anything else." She left just as quietly as she'd come, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Mary rubbed her eyes, smiling to show slightly yellowed teeth. "Father Thomas Breuwig... just took his vows three months ago. He's trying to be like you, Father Remington. Falling terribly short of the mark, though."

Remington offered a weak smile for the compliment. "You must first crawl before you walk, Mother Mary. I'm sure he'll do fine if given enough time."

Her snort clearly stated she didn't believe him. Blowing across her tea to try and cool it a little, her eyes returned to Rosette and Chrono. Rosette was ignoring the tea sitting on the table between the two chairs, but Chrono was sipping his cautiously, a little relaxed smile showing on his face. It was amazing to her how calm he could be in the face of all that had happened. Tegan being murdered, Asmodius betraying them, Joshua giving himself to Aion... She almost envied how he didn't seem to feel the burden of so much going on at once.

"So, the two of you are finally married," she commented, eyes dancing merrily. "Despite the odd circumstances of the occassion, are you both doing well?"

Rosette shifted uncomfortably as she pretended the blush wasn't there. "Yeah... I guess. I mean, a lot's been going on so we really haven't had time to think about it. Now that we know Asmodius is a bad guy, who's to say we should even stay married?" She said the last with a nervous laugh, hating the fact that her cheeks were on fire. Geeze, she hoped thatwas about as far as the prying went. There was no way she was talking about other... things... in their marriage.

The back against her leg stiffened sharply, drawing her attention to Chrono's bowed head. She could only catch the barest peek of his profile through his dark hair, the lamp light catching a trace amount of the deep violet in those strands. Uh-oh... she suddenly realized what she'd just said and mentally kicked herself in the butt for it. It sounded like she didn't want to be with Chrono, which wasn't the case at all! "Er... what I meant was, if you _want_ to stay married, Chrono?"

He very carefully put his empty teacup on the rug beneath him and refused to look at her. "I know what you meant, Rosette," he said in that deceptively mild voice that he was hurt and didn't want her to know about it. It was his blank voice, and it was usually accompanied by his blank face. No one else in the room was making a noise, both Mary and Remington trying hard not to stare at them.

"It didn't come out the way I wanted it," she tried again.

"It's jake, Rosette. I understand." He turned a smile up to her, but it was empty and didn't reach his crimson eyes.

No... she didn't think he did understand. Huffing in frustration at her big mouth, she slouched down in the chair and scowled at the barred window. Stupid, stupid mouth, speaking her mind before she could think it through better! She didn't _want_ to end their marriage, especially not after what happened in Paris. It made her squirm a little just remembering how he'd felt under her hands, the difference between the skin covering his wings being like softened leather to the firmer, softer skin of his back. The way he'd gasped her name while looking into her eyes. And how could she forget the way his eyes had looked, burning like rubies lit in the sun, so dark and full of something that had to do with her? She blew her breath up against her forehead to help cool off her hot skin. It was getting really warm in here...

Remington cleared his throat to break the tension and suggested politely, "Perhaps you and Chrono would like to get a little rest, Rosette? We'll be busy tomorrow fo certain, and you both must be exhausted."

"What about you, Ewan?" Chrono asked, but again it was only a polite question, no real feeling behind it.

He shrugged, smiling in a resigned fashion. "I believe Mother Mary and I have still more to discuss. Do you have spare rooms for us, Mother?"

Mary nodded, picking up the phone on her desk and pressing and extension. "Clarisse, find two rooms for our guests, please. And be a good girl and come straight back here to show Rosette and Chrono to one of them." She waited for the tinny sounding affirmation to the request before leaning back in her chair again. "So, have you two had a chance to really ge the full experience of this modern age?" she asked, changing the subject easily.

"Well... not really," Chrono answered, tucking his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. "Things have changed quite a bit since then. It's hard to believe it's only been eighty years what with all the advancements made."

The old woman's laugh came out almost as a delighted cackle. "Only eighty years? That's my whole life, and he says 'only eighty years'!"

Rosette felt more than heard Chrono's chuckle brush up her leg and saw Remington offer another tired smile. "For those of us who live forever, eighty years is only the blink of an eye," the Devil added softly. Not once in the all the history of years that I've been in existance have I seen so much progress achieved in so little time."

Bleary blue eyes went from laughing to thoughtful as they locked with Rosette's. The girl smiled as brightly as she could and fidgited her hands on her lap. "And by wedding your souls as one, does that mean Rosette shares this immortality?"

"We don't really know for certain," Remington offered up when the other two wouldn't answer. "Nothing like this has ever been done before, but Rosette is exhibiting signs of gaining from this joining. She's much faster than she was before and is showing the strange ability of being impervious to hellfire. It's almost as if she's gaining some of Chrono's powers."

That made the two women in the room look at him in shock. Chrono seemed completely uneffected by this rather startling announcement, eyes pinpointing on a spot on the rug and holding. "Wait... just a minute here," Rosette interupted, shaking her head a little. "Whaddya mean I'm gaining some of Chrono's powers? How can I be gaining anything like that when I'm not a Devil?"

"It makes sense, Rosette," Chrono said, tilting his head back to give her one of his level stares, lips lifted in just the faintest hint of a smile. It was one of his older looks, the one that looked so weird when he was in his small form but was perfectly normal in his true one. It served as a reminder that he was a Devil, one that was born hundred of years before she was. She shivered, hugging herself a little. "We bound your soul to my life. Why wouldn't that carry over to other areas of our lives as well?"

"So, what do you get out of this?"

"Those holy rounds that hit me healed pretty quickly, don't you think? With any other Devil, the bullets would have continued to eat away at their flesh. Instead, mine was trying to heal over them."

Rosette continued to stare at him for just a second longer before a grin broke out over her face and she gave a little laugh. "Well, that's just jake, then! You're safe from holy rounds, I'm safe from hellfire. I say let's go get those Sinners right now!"

"Hold on, Rosette, don't get too excited yet," Remington cautioned, holding up a hand to stop the excited blonde from jumping out of her seat and doing just that. "If it's fairly safe to assume that you have both gained strengths from each other, it is also safe to assume that you've both inherited weaknesses as well. For example, Chrono might have absorbed some of your mortality. It may be more difficult to kill you, Rosette, but it might mean that Chrono is more vulnerable to assault from more conventional means."

Oh. That was a good point... and something she hadn't thought of before. She'd noticed a little bit of what Remington had been saying about her physically being stronger. During sparring sessions, it suddenly wasn't so hard to nearly run apace with Chrono and that he wasn't witholding his attacks as much as he used to. She'd just chalked that up to her being in pretty good shape, but now... She sighed and rapped her knuckles across Chrono's head sharply. "Hear that? Don't go getting yourself killed or hurt too badly, got it? Otherwise, it could mean bye-bye to me, too."

Chrono opened his mouth and looked as if he were about to argue before he shut it again and chose to smile and say, "Whatever you say, Rosette."

"Of course it's whatever I say, and don't you forget that!" She grinned and winked at him to show she was only kidding. It took him a second before his features relaxed and he leaned his cheek against her knee, arm curling around her calf again. Geeze, ever since they'd gone and... er... done 'it', he had gotten very touchy-feely. Not in the gross sense or anything, more like he didn't want to stop holding her hand or being near her. She figured it had something to do with her being his 'property', sot to speak. By touching her, he marked her as his and no one else's. It was like a dog peeing on a tree... without the whole leg lifting thing and the pee. A good thing, too, because that was a sure way to end a marriage.

There was a knock on the door again shortly before it opened and Sister Clarisse came in, curtsying politely. "The rooms are ready, Mother," she said softly.

Mary nodded and rose from behind her desk, and indication that their conversation was done for now. "Chrono, Rosette, why don't you go with Sister Clarisse for now? Father Remington and I still need to chat just a bit."

Rosette bristled a little at being bossed around by someone who was _technically_ younger than herself, but when Chrono stood without arguement, giving her that very soft look that made her tummy all queasy as he held his hand out to her, she decided it really wasn't a big enough deal to go complaining about. She took his hand, noticing how the smile grew a little wider and his eyes lit up darkly. It made her shiver, and she didn't think it was because she was cold. Nervous, maybe, about these fairly new feelings for the Devil in front of her. She'd always felt something more for Chrono and had wondered for the longest time what would have happened if they'd had more time before. Would they have done 'that' back then, too? It had been so nice for the six months they were alone to have him to herself and wake up to violet hair streaming around her. Or to him making her breakfast. Neither of them had acted further on the light brushes of fingers or little kisses on the cheek, but she sure wanted to back then.

She glanced down at their hands as they followed the young, quiet nun down the halls and to the elevators. His skin was so much darker than hers, the claws that looked like human nails she knew were much sharper. He was still physically dangerous in this form, but he always showed her such gentleness. She knew that was extremely uncommon for a Devil... unless they wanted something. Rosette scowled as she thought back over the words spoken in Paris. Chrono was a Devil, yes, but he'd acted like this since before they'd made their contract. He stood by her out of friendship and... and... love.

Her eyes widened just a touch, her lips parting as she swung her gaze around and down slightly to see Chrono's peaceful face. That's what he'd been trying to tell her in Paris. She had no real evidence to say it was, but her gut told her that Chrono had been trying to say that to her. That knowledge did weird things to her. It made her dizzy and happy, but sick and terrified at the same time. Chrono... loved her. Chrono...

He finally seemed to notice she was watching him and slid his eyes over to hers, arching a brow questioningly. "Something wrong, Rosette?"

"Uh... um... no! W-Why, does something look wrong?" she asked hastily, forcing a happy grin and a laugh. Chrono loved her, Chrono loved her...

_"Yes, I do."_

She jumped and made a surprised 'eep' when the voice sounded in her head. Her eyes narrowed at his amused chuckle before she swatted his arm hard. "You creep! That scared the begeezus outta me!"

"Sorry, but you were thinking it so hard..." he continued to chuckle. His whole exterior had changed with that simple, unexpected exchange of thought. She could almost feel the relief pouring off him at getting that out in the open. It was odd, but she wasn't nearly as floored with shock as she thought she would have been to have him confirm that fact. Maybe it was because she'd always kind of known he loved her. Or maybe it was just another surprise to add on top of all the others, so it didn't seem like such a big deal.

"Well, warn a girl next time, okay? And quit eavesdropping!" She didn't want him listening on her thoughts without her consent. Otherwise, he would have found out-

"Here we are," Sister Clarisse said, giving them a cheerful expression as she opened the door and motioned for them to go inside. Once the door was shut, Rosette quickly moved away from Chrono, going straight to the window to look out over the New York street. below. It was a very cold grey sky out now with little streaks of pink and orange through it all, muddling together in a dingy brown color when it blended with the city lights. The bars on the window were coated over with pidgeon droppings and the glass panels were nailed shut from above to keep everything in and everything out. It was a good thing they had the air conditioning on, she thought idly, running her fingertips along the glass. That had to be her most favorite invention from this new time; central air. Tegan used to yell at her all the time for plopping herself down in front of one of the large vents in the lab after a hard, sweaty training session. Tegan...

Rosette hugged herself tightly when she thought she wouldn't be seeing the fiery scientist again. Yet another friend killed and gone. Satella and Steiner from before, Asmaria many years later, Anna and Claire... all of them gone. Mary was still alive, yes, but she wasn't the same girl she was eighty years ago, and not just physically. She'd grown up and matured. She'd lived her whole life out. Rosette had been through a lot herself, but she was still a teenager both physically and mentally. No one could relate to how shocking it was to know what a person should look like and seeing they weren't like that any longer. No one else really knew how it felt to know people you joked with had died years ago without you. No one... except Chrono.

As if on cue, the Devil's arms circled around her waist, his hands crossing at the wrists and covering her own. She closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against the window when she felt him press himself closer, his body curving to hers as he placed his cheek against her shoulder. She was taller than him when he was in this form, so snuggling from behind was less about protection and more about feeling better.

"Were you eavesdropping again?" she muttered half-heartedly. Right then, she really didn't care if he had been. This was what she'd needed and he was giving it to her.

"I didn't have to," Chrono answered back, red eyes watching her through their reflections in the glass. His eyes seemed to be glowing, catching light from somewhere so that they looked like deep flames and sparking rubies. She watched him lift one hand slowly, tracing a claw down her cheek and under her chin lightly. "I saw it here."

Rosette closed her eyes, heart fluttering a little at the gentle touch. It was both comforting and heat-making at the same time. Chrono continued to stroke her cheek gently, claws scraping over her skin and sending delicious tingles down her spine. She brought her free hand up to cover his, pressing her cheek to it. His lips touched her shoulder through the material of her shirt chastely before he pulled away from her. Rosette turned with him, still holding his hand. He was tugging her toward the bed, eyes filled with a darkness that had everything to do with her. "Um... I don't think... I mean, we're in God's house," she stammered.

Chrono chuckled a little, a faint pink coming to his cheeks. "Technically, God's house is over there," he replied, indicating with his head in the general direction of the unconnected church. "But I'm not looking for _that_. I just want to hold you while you sleep. Can I do that?"

Rosette fought the mischievous grin that was trying to break out. "Well... I suppose it'll be okay," she replied before the grin finally escaped and she went with him to the narrow bed. She kicked her shoes off, breath catching a little when he stopped her by cupping her face in both his small, warm hands, leaning up a little to press a kiss to her lips. That was all he did before moving away to take his own shoes off neatly and set them aside with the belt of his jeans. It was a simple motion, but it made her want to cling to him and taste his mouth again. She shivered, staying where she was as he flipped the covers back neatly. He was still fully clothed. Good... maybe. She wasn't sure anymore.

"Rosette?"

She jumped at her softly whispered name and smiled quickly before joining him under the covers and snuggling in against his small chest. They both shifted around a little, trying to get comfortable. Geeze, this was so much easier when she woke him up! They finally ended up woth Chrono on his back with Rosette's head on his chest and her fingers curled into the soft braid of hair the he'd draped over his shoulder at her request. Their legs were entwined under the sheets, one of her blue jean clad thighs shoved between both of his. She sighed, breathing in the scent of him (something like like cinnamon hot chocolate, a little exotic but comforting at the same time, she thought) and closed her eyes. She ended up falling asleep with his claws trailing up and down her arm in long, languid gestures designed to lull her to sleep.

* * *

Remington took the offered whiskey that Mary had pulled from a hidden stash gladly, raising it in a slight salute to her from where they sat on either side of the desk. The old woman took a healthy swig of the course liquor and grimaced appreciatively. "This is our secret," she said with mock severity. "If Father Breuwig finds out, he'll confiscate it and I'll never be able to ease these old joints of mine again."

"Your secret doesn't leave this room, though I must admit I'm a little surprised at your drink of choice. You could barely tolerate the sacrificial wine during service," he replied teasingly. He remembered Mary's first taste of the dry, cheap wine served during the mass and how her eyes had welled up with the struggle not to spit Jesus' Blood all over the alter.

Mary chuckled to herself and shrugged her shoulders. "I've seen things I never knew could have existed during my time with the Order of Magdalene. I'd be surprised if Sister Kate didn't have a hoarde somewhere herself."

"She always did complain that Rosette was enough to drive one to drink."

"She died shortly after you left, you know."

He frowned, sipping the whiskey slowly. "No, I didn't." He'd stayed on for about twenty years before deciding it would be best to remove himself from that life and focus on Joshua. That meant Kate had died incredibly young, only in her fifties.

The woman before him nodded grimly, rotating her chair back and forth over and over again. "Her apendix burst in the middle of the night. No one had any idea she'd even been in pain. Claire was the one to find her in the morning, when she didn't show up for mass. I swear I'd never heard the girl scream so loudly in my life, and I never heard her do it again. Can I tell you something, Father?"

"Is this in confession?" he joked, slouching down a little in his chair with his legs stretched out before him. It made the fresh wounds on his chest pull tight and hurt, but it was more tolerable than sitting perfectly straight for the moment.

Mary offered him a faint lift of lips before closing her eyes and sighing. "No, not confession. Just two old people shooting the breeze." It amused him that she ignored his physical appearance and accepted he was much, much older than he looked. "I don't think Sister Kate ever forgave herself for what happened to Chrono and Rosette."

"Oh, and why is that? There wasn't much she could really do to reverse everything that happened."

"I know that, and I think deep down she did, too. It's more like... it's that she felt helpless, I suppose. Helpless to do anything. We all did." Mary stared down into her glass for a second longer before tipping back the amber liquid in a surprisingly impressive gulp for someone her age. "Well, it does no good to the present to get stuck knee deep in the past. Will you let me in on your thoughts as to why Asmodius would go through so much trouble to bring them back only to turn traitor?"

Remington laughed under his breath, lips pulling up a little as he ran fingers back through his hair. He desperately needed a shower. Bits of ghoul, dried blood and other less-than-pleasant thigns coated him all over. "How very observant of you, Mary. That is precisely what I've been asking myself since we first learned about Asmodius' role in these events. What could the Seven Sinners possibly gain by joining Chrono and Rosette as one? Obviously, it has something to do with the ending of the three worlds, but we don't even know the ritual behind it, so how can we build our defenses to withstand the storm?"

"I know our library isn't stocked with books on Demonology or Devilry," Mary replied thoughtfully. "So, that sadly limits us to what the Lord has to say on the matter."

"Which, I'm certain, is precious little," he added ruefully. "I know the Vatican as a remarkable selection of-,"

"The Vatican no longer wants anything to do with the Magdalene Order. They see us as archaic and past our prime. You won't get any help there, Father."

Remington let out his own annoyed little sigh, frowning ever so slightly. Something was missing, something big and, he feared, painfully obvious fro the puzzle. There had to be some logical reasoning behind why Chrono and Rosette were returned to this world and wed. Asmodius had been most insistant that they wed. It had to do with the world ending... but what? What could they possibly-

**_BOOM!_**

He dropped the glass and whiskey entirely, hands gripping the chair as the entire building shook from foundation to roof. A second later and the sprinklers were going off over head, dousing everything in water. Remington was on his feet in the next minute and rushing for the door with Mary right behind him as screams came from all over the dormitory. As soon as the door was open and he was coughing on sulfur and brimstone, he understood what was going on. Hellfire. Only hellfire could smell like that. Another rattling explosion connected with the place and shook plaster from the ceiling down over those running wildly for the stairs. The Order was under attack. Remington took Mary's arm and began helping her through the crowd of people, shouting at everyone to stay as calm as possible and stick together. Thankfully, years of giving orders lent him enough of an authoritative edge to receive immediate compliance. People began latching onto partners, shivering and wide-eyed as they all began filing neatly and quickly down the hall.

As they hurried toward the stairs, Remington allowed himself just one tiny remorseful thought; it certainly didn't look like he'd be getting that shower any time soon.

* * *

AUTHOR'S VERY LONG NOTE: Er... So, first, I am more sorry than any of you truly knows that this hasn't been updated in AGES. This chapter's been written over about four times now, and once was due to techincal difficulties (ie, a dog with a very curly tail decided to unplug me before I'd had a chance to save it. She's lucky she's so damn cute). I'm still not entirely pleased with the end result, but I really don't want to keep you guys waiting any longer. Thank you so very, very much for being patient and waiting for this. I totally understand if you guys gave up on me and updating it, since it HAS been weeks but... you should've seen the crap it was before all this!

As always, thank you so much for the reviews and continued interest in the story. Very nearly coming to a conclusion, and the next update will NOT be so long in the making!


	16. Into The Fire

**CHAPTER 16: Into The Fire**

Aion looked down from a nearby rooftop as Aira had a field day with the Magdalene Order. A little smile twitched his lips as he watched ant-sized people run from the burning, hellfire bombarded building, and move a safe distance away from the clinging blaze. Aira was circling in the air around the building, revealed in her true glory, and loving every minute of it. The woman was never more beautiful than in her full temper. Large gold and red wings beat heavily as she maintained a hovering position to shoot off another gout of deadly crimson flame, the dark red of her hair catching that glow and reflecting it back in answering fire. It was a shame she was too ill-tempered for his tastes. He wouldn't mind bedding her, except that then he'd have to tolerate her moods. He wasn't masochistic enough for that.

He stood to his full height, his smile spreading enough to flash a hint of fang as he recognized the figure of Ewan Remington carrying an old woman out of the inferno. Well, well... Anamalech fell to a fallen angel. How nicely ironic was that? His white boots shifted on the gravel coating the building roof as he walked to the corner edge and waited still for his cue. He didn't mind sitting back while Aira ran the risk of a holy round to her deceptively fragile frame. She was beautiful when she was angry, but beyond stunning when she was thoroughly pissed off. A holy round would certainly set her off more than she was now. Aion chuckled at the horror that would bring the people below, adjusting his glasses on his nose. Not that he truly needed them, but humans for some reason trusted a man in glasses. It was easier to tempt them when they thought he looked innocent.

Machine guns rattled into the night, causing Aira to circle, weave and dodge through a sky turned amber from the fire as she shouted taunts down the them. He cringed at a particularly foul string of cusses from the Sinner of Anger and shook his head. Yet another reason he would never consider her as a bed partner. Aira's mouth was one even Satan disapproved of. Remington was shouting orders below, trying to organize and rally the troops against their enemy. It was working, too. Anywhere the man went, Aion could almost see the hope and strength blossom on the faces of those assembling. There was a good reason the man had been head of the militia. He was a natural leader in battle. Aion allowed a respectful little nod of his head to this.

A burst of hellfire from _inside_ the building drew his attention and made him step up onto the ledge of the building, the metal of his armor clicking ever so slightly. Gouts of crimson and black broke through the existing flames and held them back while a small stream of humans escaped. He didn't have to see the tall figure in deep red to know it was Chrono. Only a fool would save others before themselves, and Chrono was most definately a fool. His wings twitched just slightly when he saw the familiar figure in crimson, as well as the paler one that was constantly at it's side. Rosette Christopher. A pale angel of a form next to the darkness of the Devil bound to her. He desired her. Not in the sense of bedding her, of course. There was something positively distasteful about fucking one of God's creatures. What he wanted was to take her and possess her, steal her from his old rival. He knew it would kill Chrono to lose Rosette to him. And that was precisely what he wanted.

After all, Chrono had betrayed him so long ago. It was only fair that he experience that same pain himself.

"Joshua?" he called softly, not bothering to turn as the human boy approached from further back on the roof.

"Is it time, Aion?"

"Yes. Let's go free your beloved sister."

* * *

Remington continued shouting orders from behind the safety of an upturned vehicle, quickly dropping the empty clips from his guns to the pavement and reloading before spinning around on his knees and firing at the winged Devil streaking through the firelit sky. Civilians ran down the street, hysterical and tripping over themselves in their haste to leave the scene. The old and slow were trampled in the mad rush, children forsaken and left screaming with no one to help them as their parents sought to save themselves from the spreading inferno. Sirens wailed and screeched as they tried to push to the forefront of the commotion, but there was little to nothing the human authorities could do against this foe.

This was Aira, the Sinner of Anger. There was nothing on this earth that could stand against her in her full rage.

"Holy rounds aren't working! We need to evacuate," the young priest to his left shouted, eyes wide and nearly panicked.

"If we leave, she'll follow and slaughter us," he argued. "We need to keep her here or risk more innocent deaths!"

"But, Father-,"

"Don't argue and keep firing!"

The priest bit back his retort and repositioned the sniper rifle to his shoulder. Five rounds fired off in only a few seconds. All five rounds burned int the heat of living hellfire surrounding the laughing Devil. Aira's eyes were a brilliant, blazing slash of green color among her whipping reddish-gold hair and golden cast skin as she spun away, taunting them to continue firing at her.

They needed to bring her down, and the holy rounds weren't doing the job. Remington ignored the sweat trickling across his eyebrow and the sting of ash and smoke in his eyes as he continued to fire at her. It was only wasting bullets, he knew, but he hated not being able to do something. Shooting was doing something, and it kept the Devil moving and away from their location.

"The church! The fire's spread to the church!"

The cry took up and spread down the horrified ranks of nuns and priests until their attention started drifting from the battle to the burning house. "Stay your ground," he shouted, knowing his voice would carry down the line of tipped cars. Those nearest to him cringed but didn't budge. He understood their terror at watching the church burn, but a building over their own lives... God could make His house anywhere. One church wasn't worth the sacrifice of lives needed to keep it in tact.

A whoosh of sulfur-coated wings alerted him in time to duck the ball of hellfire that very nearly took his head off. "Is this what God has seen fit to set against me?" Aira taunted from the air. Her voice was low, a deep growl of sound that was designed to terrify or enrage the listener as their heart demanded. "Is this all that the Almighty has left in His arsenal? A neutered Angel and incompetant cannon fodder?" She laughed shrilly, the very pitch enough to draw screams of pain from those still fleeing the area.

"AIRA!"

Remington followed the blur of crimson that sprang from nowhere at the laughing Devil. She screamed as she was tackled mid-air, joining the crimson blur in a flash of golden armor, The colliding of the two forms through a nearby building shook the pavement and caused flaming sections of the dormitory walls to collapse, showering brilliant sparks and lingering embers into the dark sky. People ducked and yelped as those same sparks rained down on them, hastily beaten out with flailing limbs. Another eruption from the second building heralded the arrival of great gouts of hellfire torching up the night as the two figures flew from the rubble and took to the sky in a dizzying array of arial attacks and flashes of fire.

"What is that?"

"TWO Devils?"

"Dear God, have mercy on your children..."

The questions and prayers continued to circle through their small force, many assuming falsely that the arrival of a second Devil meant the Seven Sinners would soon be congregating down upon their heads. Remington tore his eyes from the ragin violence in the sky and began to restore order to the troops on the ground. "All artillery, form rank in front! Medics! I want medics carting the dying from the area. Move them to relative safety in the alley ways, and keep low. Don't bother with the dead. I want the civilians escorted from the area NOW! Move!"

People rushed and jumped to his orders as he moved about, directing the lines into formation and shouting for people to move faster. Chrono was a very powerful Devil, but even he couldn't hold back one of the Seven Sinners forever. The sound of the battle from above was like tinny thunder and orange lightening in an unusual storm. To his surprise, some of the civilians began to jump into the fray, helping to haul the injured to the safety of narrow alleys, helping to shove the upturned cars into a barricade across the broken street. Water sprayed from broken fire hydrants and electric sparks snapped and crackled from ruined street lights as, together, civilians and Order members worked together to try and prepare for the return of Aira.

Red and blue flashes illuminated the damp pavement and made him shield his eyes as the police finally broke through the hystery. None of the officers so much as drew a gun as they came numbly from their cars, eyes wide and jaws slack. "Holy... shit," one of them gasped, taking in the chaos of the surrounding area. He couldn't supress the iritated sigh that broke from him as the police officers finally spotted all the military level guns ranging around the place. Just wonderful... He could already feel the cold steel of handcuffs now as he was arrested for an illegal arms deal going sour. He doubted they'd believe him if he swore it was all to protect the innocent bystanders to a holy war that was being rekindle after several millenia of near-peace.

Remington continued to direct activity, deciding his best course of action was to ignore the rapidly approaching officers. "Sister, I don't care if the man doesn't feel he needs to take order from a girl in a habit, just get him out here and with his family," he concluded to a young nun before turning with what he hoped passed as a fairly genial smile to the glaring officer. "Good evening, sirs. Is something the matter?"

"No shit somethin's wrong," the stocky man toward the front spat out. "What the hell is all this here? Looks like some kinda goddamn street war, that's what!"

"Thank you for answering your own question, however incorrect the answer may be. Now, if you'll please excuse me..." He began to edge by, even though he knew he wasn't getting out of this easily.

"And where the hell do you think you're going?" the man demanded, shoving Remington back hard. "Did I tell your pretty-boy ass you could move? You better start answerin' questions, like a good boy, or that face might not leave here so pretty. Understand?"

Sighing and rubbing his eyes as he leaned on one hip, Remington pointed to the rapidly descending blaze of figures from the sky. "There. That's what is going on."

"What the hell... is that?" a younger man from the back whispered, stepping just a little away from their group as a dull roaring sound began to build and pulse in the air.

"SHE'S COMING!"

"LOAD THE ROUNDS AND TAKE AIM!"

"_That _is a Devil," Remington continued firmly as the beating of heavy wings encased in crimson and black swirling flames became more and more clear. The one trailing behind it was also winged, the burning light of the fires catching on a long tail of metal that whipped and streamed behind it. "Aim for the first," he shouted to the troops.

"Bullshit! This is some kinda David Copperfield crap that you see on TV," the first cop sneered.

"No way is that thing fake, sir," the young cop replied shakily before crossing himself. "That's a real thing!"

"Yes... and she's the reason we're in our current situation," Remington pressed. "Now, she's going to be on our location in a very small amount of time, so if you wouldn't mind taking cover, please? She isn't particularly fond of law enforcement officials, just as a fair warning."

Slowly, eyes still glued on the whizzing ball of hellfire, the police edged back and away, taking cover behind the cars along the ranks of the Order and civilians. As the unearthly screams of rage began to descend down upon them all, a few of those unused to such sounds began to wail in fear, dropping whatever weapon they'd picked up and cowering with their heads covered. Besides bringing a consuming rage to mankind, Aira also had the power to instill an overwhelming fear on her victims. Remington forced back the fear that was trying to twist up from his own gut and remained standing in the open, a gun in each hand and aiming for the snarling, twisted face of the Sinner.

"Wait until she's nearly on us," he ordered, clicking back the safety on each gun. Sweat slipped down from his brow, grazing along his cheek to hang for a moment on his chin before dropping off without care to the ground. The only other movement to him was the steady rise and fall of his chest.

"We can't win against this!" someone shrieked. "We're dead!"

"We're not dead, not yet," Remington countered sharply, putting all the authority and certainty he had into those words. "We have a chance, just wait until I say go!" The pressure in the air began to increase rapidly, pressing the fear had into his chest as if it were a fist to knock the wind from him. He didn't move under that weight, instead pushed back against it. To move now would allow the fear inside to overcome him. He could now see the claws extended, coated red with blood. Splashes of that darkness marred the smooth front of her golden armor and the black leather boots that covered the rest of her legs. Aira let out a piercing scream that made several drop their weapons and blew out the glass windows in neighboring buildings.

"NOW! FIRE NOW!"

Machine guns rattled, smoke and hissing came from miniature grenade launchers, glass bottles and crowbars were flung at her. The Sinner of Anger corkscrewed rapidly through the air, twisting upward and out of range just in the nick of time. "Reload and ready yourselves again," Remington shouted, dropping his empty clips and reaching for the last two he had. If they didn't inflict some kind of damage this time around, they would surely be dead. Aira's supply of hellfire was unlimited. Their ammunition was not. This was their last chance to save themselves from certain death at her hands.

Of course... if Aira had wanted them all dead, she could have done so with the first round of explosions to the Order building. She didn't do that. The fires had been deliberately made and designed to force everyone out in the open. She was toying with them, which was unusual for the impatient Sinner to do. Aira was more one to kill and get it done quickly and as messy as possible. Why change eons of habit now? Unless their destruction wasn't what she wanted...

Remington whirled around as another pass of thundering wings streaked by over his head. Chrono was rushing to catch Aira midair and drag her away from the humans. She was purposely distracting the crimson-clad Devil. Aira was _not_ offering a real challenge, she was simply keeping them occupied from... His eyes widened as gunshots fired down an alley not too far away. Rosette! "Chrono, get Rosette!" He knew the Devil could hear him even from the height he was currently speeding at.

The crimson figure did a stunning maneuver that twisted him back and around so fast it was nearly impossible to follow. The air around him began to heat with twisted black and red flames, wild sparks of dark lightening in the night. A sound filled the air, so full of rage and hatred that weapons started turning toward it in preparation for another attack.

At the same moment that Chrono would have reached the alley way, another figure shot through the sky, heading straight for the barely visible astralines above the city. A figure covered entirely in pure white and silver... and carrying two people. "AION!" Remington didn't need to hear the name shouted in such loathesome tones for him to know it was their old nemesis.

"Bring him down!" he started shouting, motioning for the artillery to start shooting at Aion. They had to stop the Sinner before he reached those lines with Rosette! Chrono was moving faster than any wind, but he wasn't going to be fast enough, not with the head start Aion had. Missiles launched and exploded midair in a blaze of hellfire as Aira, laughing at them, covered Aion's retreat. The firing instantly left from the retreating white Devil and focused on her, the waves of anger at her mocking them taking over the hearts and minds of those below.

A faint blink of light, followed quickly by a second one, seemed to be the cue for Aira's departure as well. Tossing one final fireball in their direction, she sped toward those same lines, leaving Remington far below and clutching his empty guns tightly. The Seven Sinners had the final piece to their puzzle; the key to opening the gates of the three worlds. Chrono and Rosette were the final link... and now they were in the hands of their enemies.

* * *

The first thing Rosette realized as consciousness returned was that she could see firelight dancing from behind her closed eyes. The second was that her arms were bound to either side of her body while her legs were tightly closed. A cross... fire... she was on a cross again... She screamed and struggled against the biting pain of chain links pinching her arms, throwing her entire body to be free. Not again, this wasn't happening again! Please, God, she didn't want to return to Hell!

"Well, well... it seems the little one's been strung up before," a man's voice purred. It was low and cultured with a faint accent that could have been anything from Italian to Greek. It made images of wealth and power enter her thoughts, silently whispering that it could give her all that and more. She shook her head and screamed again, her back arching hard enough from the rough wooden beam to actually hurt.

"No wonder Volupte took her sweet time with them," another man's voice drawled with the edge of amused laughter to it. "She's very pretty like this."

"Don't go getting attached, Belphagor," a woman added. There was a dull scraping sound from her direction which Rosette couldn't place. She didn't want to open her eyes yet, not if it meant seeing the fires again.

"Most lovely Fierezza, I have no intention of getting attached to the girl. I simply commented that she looked pretty on the cross, that's all," Belphagor cajoled.

"Well, it _was_ my idea to put her there to begin with," the woman continued. There was no mistaking the pride in her voice. The scraping sound stopped abruptly as the woman continued with a derisive sneer, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Mammon invited me, and seeing as I did keep my end of things, I feel I have a right to witness opening of the gates as well."

Rosette's body stiffened and stopped struggling altogether as that smooth, British voice filtered into her ears. Slowly, her eyes opened... and met pale, cold blue eyes and a smile devoid of the warmth she normally would have associated with it. Asmodius stood near the entrance to the circular room, lit entirely by wavering torches set in brackets along the walls. The light played across his pale face, changing his skin from pale gold to dark orange in each pulsing wave.

"Hello, Rosette," he said pleasantly, tucking his long fingers into the pockets of his pants. She glared at him and refused to answer. He was the reason this was happening! He'd brutally murdered Tegan. There was nothing she had to say to him.

"I can't say as I blame you for not being sociable," he continued with a regretful sigh. "And I truly am sorry that it has to be this way. I doubt you will ever understand how very important you and your Devil husband are to us."

Rosette's glare didn't soften even a little bit as she pulled again on the hard chains wrapping her to the cross. The Sinners who had been talking before watched with carying expressions at her futile efforts. They ranged from amused to mocking as little grunts of effort worked from her throat, but she ignored them and continued to struggle. It just wasn't in her to sit back and let them win without fighting to the very end.

"Please, Miss Christopher, do stop struggling," the man with the rich accent admonished. His eyes, hair and goate were pitch black, as if light simply didn't exist around him. The woman by his side, Fierezza, returned to filing her perfect manicure, which explained the strange scraping sound she'd been hearing.

"What do you... ugh... care?" she snapped, straining to slip her hand through the tightly wound links. If she could get one hand free, then the rest would be easy. "You're just gonna... kill me... later!"

"True,. The only reason I suggest this is because you're embarassing yourself. We don't want your husband to think we've abused his property too badly, now do we?"

"And where's Joshua?" she demanded, ignoring the Devil's hard gaze.

"He's fine," the man by the door answered in pleasant tones. "He was very upset when Aion drugged you, but I believe they've worked their differences out. Mammon, perhaps it might calm her a bit to see her brother?"

The dark eyed man frowned and shook his head once. "Unwise, Belphagor, not with the Sinner Chrono getting so close to us. I can feel his rage even all the way down here."

"Oh, is that what that is? I thought I'd simply had a little much of that lovely champagne in Paris." Belphagor sighed and pushed away from the wall, moving to join the rest of the small group. "How strong do you think the bond is?"

"Very," Asmodius answered softly. "Their souls are now completely fused together. She's probably calling for him without realizing it."

Actually, she _was_ trying to call for Chrono on purpose. Rosette was trying to see if she could work the little mind-reading-bond-thing back the other way. Chrono could put his voice in her mind, why couldn't she do the same for him? This was all set up to get them in one spot. She knew that now. She knew exactly why Asmodius had done the things he did. Between the two of them, she and Chrono combined all the elements of Hell, Heaven and Earth. By getting married, and the sealing it officially but having sex, their souls were firmly locked together in one big mess. That big mess was the key they were looking for. Nameless had been right all along, the conduit HAD been in Paris. It was them! That made her close her eyes and really focus on trying to reach Chrono. He couldn't be here. The minute he was inside this place, she knew it was all going to fall apart. _C'mon, c'mon... I've gotta get to Chrono!_

"Well, it won't be as much fun with the surprise ruined, will it?"

Rosette opened her eyes at the softly spoken voice just in time to take the solid punch Mammon landed across her jaw, sending her spinning back into unconsciousness.

* * *

Joshua rotated his neck and swung his arms across and away from his body, blue eyes cold and set firmly with a terrifying glare. Or, at least Aion told him it was terrifying. He trusted Aion with his life. Aion had told him they would be getting his sister. He'd kept his word. Joshua had managed to successfully lure her from that Devil's influence and into the alley where Aion was waiting. She'd tried to shoot Aion, so he could forgive his friend for hitting his sister to knock her out. It had been for Rosette's own good, after all. She couldn't leave _his_ side without a struggle.

And now _he_ was coming here, to take her away again. Aion had told him that Chrono would chase them down and reclaim what was 'his'. Not if Joshua had anything to say about it. He drew the gun at his belt experimentally, grateful as ever that Aion had forced him to learn how to use one. The gun was loaded with holy bullets, stolen by the halfbreed Asmodius. He rather liked the quiet man. He knew the others didn't, but then again they didn't like him much either.

The door opened to his room, showing a smiling Aion in the darkness. It was always so beautiful to see the Devil at night. The shadows seemed to run away from the light that seemed to radiate off him, reflected by silvery moon glow. Joshua knew why his friend had come, and he forced a smile through his queasy stomach.

Aion placed both hands on Joshua's shoulders and squeezed them encouragingly as their eyes met through the full length mirror. "Are you ready for this, Joshua?" the Devil asked softly. "This is the moment you've been waiting for since Chrono swept your sister away. Do you think you're ready to face him now?"

Joshua nodded grimly. "Let's go."

Smiling with obvious pride and delight, Aion stepped away and went to the door, holding it open expectantly for Joshua. He followed, exiting the room and swallowing heavily as the door clicked shut behind the both of them. Tonight was the end of this nightmare. He would kill Chrono for all the pain he'd caused theim. His death would free Rosette from his spell so that they could be together like they'd always wanted. It was what he'd wanted for long, what he'd dreamt of for ages. This was the right thing to do, for both of them.

So why did it feel so wrong?


	17. Checkmate

Chrono hit the ground hard, slipping to one knee briefly as the faint glow coming from his eyes lit the darkened, wet pavement of Chicago's streets. The wounds he'd picked up while trying to keep Aira at bey were now only minor annoyances, stinging slightly as sweat slipped along them or body movement twisted them. The minute he'd heard Remington's shout from the street, everything had clicked perfectly in place, leaving him to feel like a complete fool that he hadn't seen it earlier.

He'd never trusted Asmodius. The man was half Devil, for Pandemonium's sake! Blood always played a role in a person's life, and that blood meant that Asmodius Hendrick could not be trusted completely. Despite that, though, he'd walked head long into this thing, dragging Rosette with him. _Again_. It was just the same as last time. Chrono's lips thinned down into a fierce scowl as he stood up, using the bit of aura surrounding him to feel his way through the dark. Aion had a head start on him and was most likely already at the church. Finding the church wouldn't be difficult. It was finding Rosette _in_ the church that would be.

Damn it all to hell, he was doing it again! The one person he held most dear to him was in danger again, and this time it was simply because he hadn't pieced it together fast enough. He'd been so blinded by the second chance they were given and the hope that maybe this time it would be right that he didn't bother looking at the finer details of things. Nameless had given them the answer. He'd practically shoved it in their lap back in Paris.

He was played for such a fool!

Chrono moved quickly, wings tucking in against his body to create the illusion of a long coat that changed its hue from deep purple to black as the light hit it. Humans were still walking about at one in the morning and only cast him a few glances as he hastened down the freshly rained on sidewalks of Chicago. He could feel Rosette's thoughts faintly, but the connection wasn't strong enough yet to work over great distances. All he could catch were emotional impressions. The most prominant was one of anger, slashing through the fear that made his stomach curl as easily as claws through flesh. Rosette was afraid and using anger as a way to work through it. It made him pick up the pace so that he was almost running now.

It would have been easier and quicker to fly, but that was the way they would expect him to arrive. Knowing the Sinners, they probably had that army they were gathering in Paris assembled and waiting for him to swoop in. Surprise would be an advantage he desperately needed if he expected to get to her. At this point in things, all he wanted was to rescue Rosette and take her away somewhere. Wherever she wanted to go, just so long as she was with him and safe.

His speed increased yet again when ahe caught sight of the old stone bell tower topped with a cross, tucked slightly behind a skyscraper reaching as high as it could to the heavens. The heavy, clinging aura of Demons and Devils hung as thick as smoke in the air, visible only to those who knew what to look for but felt by all as a strong discomfort to be anywhere near the abandoned church. He moved through the shadows cast down by the towering buildings, muscles tensed and ready to let loose the rage burning inside him. They'd taken Rosette, and by Heaven and Hell, he would get her back and see them dead for it.

He saw the first stirring of movement in the graveyard directly in front of the church, fenced in by twisted, corroding metal bars and a gate that had long ago lost it's chain and lock. Graffiti marred several headstones direspectfully, the bright neon colors catching more of the moonlight than the lights from the surrounding buildings. That man made method of chasing away shadows couldn't penetrate the cloud of demonic aura flung over and around the church.

Eyes flashed as shadows began to take on shapes. Chrono growled low in his throat, eyes narrowing as he dropped the aura cloaking himself completely and revealed himself to the Demons stepping out from hiding. Twelve of them, none worthy of being more than cannon fodder for his wrath. The Seven Sinners wanted him to kill theres little ones. They wanted him to rescue Rosette. He had known it was a trap the minute he'd chased after Aion, but what choice did he have but to walk the gauntlet? As he stepped from the shadows, his body relaxing naturally for the battle to come and allowing the rage to finally surface, his eyes flared up, casting a glow through the darkness like twin crimson flames of hatred. And that hatred was to be directed at the Demons shifting away from him slowly, glancing at each other in fear as they finally tasted the first brushes of his power.

With a scream that rivaled any that Aira could have produced, he launched himself through the gates and toward the Demons standing between him and his mate. A grim smile twisted his lips as the first met a brutal death beneath his claws, blood arcing into the shadowy twilight that came just before the dawn. Two more rushed at him, and both fell to the earth as deep red puddled beneath their shredded chest cavities. If he had his way, none of them would be standing by the end of the night.

* * *

Remington surveyed the chaos surrounding him... and for the first time in his existance, he was almost at a loss as to what to do. All around him, people were working to douse and contain the fires. The screams of terror had died out, only to be echoed back occassionally from those suffering and in pain. The entire street was doused in light not only from the flames but the emergency vehicles that formed a perimeter around the ruined sections, their drivers and medics already working diligently among the wounded. To one side, a row of shroud and jacket covered corpses were stretched on the side walk. Remington sighed, turning his thoughts briefly from the troubles surrounding him in order to pray for those unfortunate victims.

His name being called returned him quickly to what was going on. Mother Mary was rushing over to him, followed by two young priests and her assistant. The old woman had soot rubbed into the creases of her cheeks, a small cut above her eyebrow and several dark bruises forming on her hands, but otherwise appeared to be unharmed. Her hand pressing against her heaving chest, Mary took a couple seconds to get herself collected before speaking. "Rosette... and Chrono," she managed to get out as she waved one of the priest's hands away irritably. "They have..."

"Yes, they do," Remington finished, a heavy sigh following closely behind his words. "The enemy has done a wonderful job of blind siding us yet again, Mary. Rosette was taken, which means of course that Chrono gave chase. The destruction here is too much for the Order to leave unattended..."

"Not true, sir," one of the priests replied firmly. The man subconsciously straightened his uniform as if he just now noticed his disheveled appearance, straightening his plain brown hair into a some what more organized style. "We have the ambulance crews here, and they're doing wonders to help and organize the wounded. Firefighters are controling the flames until they burn themselves out. The police are helping to move unharmed civilians and control those who would seek to profit off the chaos. The Order isn't needed here."

"These people were innocent civilians who happened to live too close to Order headquarters," Remington argued back. It wasn't that he didn't feel the need to follow the fight to Chicago. He felt it in every inch of his body, right down to the very bone. His mind, however, was telling him to stay and help the victims come to terms with their losses, both physical and material.

"And if we don't go to Chicago, there will be thousands more of those victims who happen to live too close to the gates of Heaven and Hell," Mary snapped back. "Here, all we can offer is comfort and spiritual aid. There, we can offer much more than that. We can quite possibly stop what's about to happen, and save more than just a few thousand souls. Thomas, did you make the preparations?"

"Yes, Mother," the brown haired priest replied. "The officers were kind enough to make travel arrangements for us."

Mary smiled, but there was nothing pleasant to it. She shrugged and said, "You see? Now that New York's finest are involved, you really have no choice! Clarisse, go round up the militia and then get those not trained in the military out there attending the people."

"Yes, Mother!" The girl hurried off to carry out the orders.

"Thomas?"

The priest held his hand out as the older woman removed a key and chain from under her habit and delivered it into his palm. "That's to the warehouse down by the docks," she explained. "Do you remember which warehouse is ours?"

"I do, Mother. Let's pray the Sinners weren't aware of it, though."

Mary smiled and patted his arm reassuringly. "Take what you need, don't worry about cataloging it. We'll do the inventory at a later date." She turned and quirked a questioning white brow at Remington. "Well, don't just stand there! You've only got about seven hours before the end of the world, you know."

Remington paused for only a moment longer, a little dumbfounded by how easily the older woman had taken control of the situation. He glanced around, the heaviness on his heart easing considerably when he saw non-military uniforms moving among the people and offering aid where they could. The victims of this tragedy were being looked after, which left the militia free to do what they did best.

A slight smile curved his lips shortly before he shook his head, his eyes closing as the relief that at least one burden of worry was removed from his neck. "Then, I leave you to handle things here, Mother Mary."

Mary flashed another tight smile, her pale blue eyes reflecting a weary determination. There was a lot of work to be done, but there was no question she would see it through to completion. "As if you ever had a choice!" she shouted as Remington ran his way to the rows of police cars waiting to escort the Order Militia where they needed to go.

* * *

The church doors exploded inwar in a wash of hellfire and burning limbs. The Demon caught in this gout was screaming shrilly, giving voice not to a death cry but a warning to those who waited inside.

The Sinner Chrono was there... and he was in a fine rage.

Chrono stepped through the doors, eye blazing to match the fires he controled. Two full-out soldier Devils whisked in from either side, having wrapped the shadows around themselves to try and escape his detection. His hands flicked out, so fast not even his own kind could track the movement until they had a lungful of claws ripping into them. Both dropped to the floor, gasping and trying to keep their insides from falling out of the holes he'd carved in them. One made an attempt for a weapon and only ended up screaming as claws whistled through the tendons and muscles so that he now had to worry about keeping his hand from falling off as well.

The Demon was whimpering, crawling away as it's blackened and burning body would allow it. Chrono continued to track it's movement through the church, letting his rage and thousands of years of finely honed battle instincts take over. Two more gouts of black and crimson flame were flung at the two Devils running in from the halls leading to the back of the church, both falling dead as the intensity ate through quickly and left nothing that was recognizable as humanoid in its wake.

The Demon had only enough time to wonder why he was still alive and not a blackened wreck like the others before claws sank into his shoulders, the sharp points hooking under his already ruined skin and using it to lift and fling him through the air as easily as tissue paper. He screamed again as he hit the stone table that had once served as an alter, landing squarely on the top and with no time to really do more than push up onto one elbow before a deadly weight slammed him back in place.

Chrono placed one knee firmly in the middle of his chest, adding just enough pressure so that the Demon understood there was no way he could move without dying. Charred, ruined fingers topped with chipped claws from having tried to drag the rest of the body behind scrambled and screeched against the metal covering his forearms before he caught those flailing parts and pinned them to the table, lowering his upper body closer to the others.

Another whimper broke as he took a deep breath, scenting the fear and feeling the fluttering pulse still fighting to keep this one alive. From outside the ruined, burning doors, almost a hundred Demons lay dead, the stench of decay already setting in to mix with the thickness of blood and almost over powering it in the process. A small, cruel smile twisted his lips as he leaned that last inch closer until his lips rubbed slightly along hot, course bits of flesh that used to form a tapered ear. Bits of it went flaking off from the stir of his breath, revealing red sores and trickles of blood as the body sought to heal itself. There was no healing to burns caused by hellfire. The most this body could do was stop the bleeding from continuing.

"Where is she?" he whispered, his voice low and carrying just enough of a menacing growl to draw out another frightened little groan and cause the body to shudder with something other than pain.

"W-Why... should I... t-t-tell you?" the Demon demanded, trying despite the fear they both knew was there to appear tought and offer one last line of resistance. "Y-You're only... gonna... k-kill me!"

Chrono tightened his grip around the wrists until he felt the bones give way like the snapping of sticks, crunching under his brutal hands. The Demon screamed again, struggling to pull free but unable to. The pressure of Chrono's knee on his chest increased to the point where breathing began to hurt terribly. Blackened eyelids opened to reveal solid black eyes, the pain cutting through the fear ever so slightly.

"You're right," Chrono replied, his voice sinking a little deeper as he continued. "You _will_ be dead. However... your answer will determine whether I make it quick or I find the time to really enjoy stripping the flesh from your bones. Now, I'll ask you only this once more, and then I show you what pain truly feels like. Where. Is. Rosette?"

The Demon quivered, lips trembling as it struggled to form words. "She... She's down-"

**BANG!**

Chrono flung himself back and over the other side of the alter as the Demon's head exploded in a mess of grey and pink sludge. His lungs worked just a little harder as sweat filmed along his skin. That had been a little too close to comfort for his part. He peered cautiously around the end when he heard soft footsteps coming slowly closer, as if they had all the time in the world to get him within firing range. A strange mixture of angry shock and unsurprised calmness came over him, the one directly contradicting the other as his attacker came into partial view. "Joshua!"

Joshua kept the gun to his side, his blonde hair that was one shade lighter than Rosette's shielding his eyes partially. A little smile graced his lips and said more clearly than any words he enjoyed having the Devil pinned down like this. "What did you say about showing someone what pain really feels like?" he inquired innocently, circling still further and forcing Chrono to edge a little further around his corner of the alter.

"You don't want to do this, Joshua," he called, trying to keep one eye on the boy and the other on the look out for an ambush in case his presence was meant to be a diversion.

"Really, why not?" he taunted back, kicking at a bit of smoldering door that was in his path. "I have every reason to want this, Sinner. Everything would have been fine if you'd only stayed away from here, and from us."

Something told Chrono the 'us' Joshua was refering to was not the Seven Sinners. He moved again as Joshua took the first step to move onto the dais, keeping the stone alter between himself and the holy rounds he knew had to be in that gun. His own natural instincts to tear the frail human to pieces warred with the knowledge that this was his beloved's brother, and that she would be far from merciful if he harmed the boy. Regardless if it was in self defence, Rosette's biggest weakness had always been Joshua. "Aion's lying to you. He's using you to dispose of me, can't you see that?"

"What I see, Sinner, is that you came between me and my sister. You took her from me eighty years ago, and you've done so again in this life time. You tricked her with _your_ lies into believing I was the one in danger."

"That's not true, and you know it! I would never harm Rosette!"

"You did before, and you will again. Aion told me everything. He even told me about... Mary Magdalene."

Chrono felt the breath catch in his throat as it always did at the mention of Mary. He knew he'd done everything he could for her, guarded her and cherished her as best he could, but he couldn't help the guilt that came over him when memories of her were brought to surface. Even now, when faced with trying to save the one he loved now, thoughts of Mary hit him harder than any bullet ever could. He swallowed heavily before answering that, skirting a little farther from where Joshua was starting to position himself. "Aion has no idea what happened between us. Whatever he told you is one sided and has nothing to do with myself and Rosette." He needed a plan. He needed a way to avoid Joshua and his gun while trying to locate Rosette.

A cool draft made his attention focus on the opening to a darkened hall barely ten feet from where he was crouched. It was the same hall the Demons had come from and obviously led back further into the church, or down below judging from the air current. That triggered back what the Demon had started to say shortly before his head exploded. Rosette had to be down below somewhere. The soft tread of rubber on stone snapped his attention back to his current situation. Joshua had edged closer as he'd gotten lost in thought. If he had any hope of making it to that hall without getting shot, he'd have to be quick about it.

"Chrono, you're boring me," Joshua complained, drawing his name out on the edge of a whine. It was all dramatics, seeing as Joshua was deadly serious about their 'game'. He briefly considered that perhaps the boy had spent too much time with Aion if he was starting wax theatrical while his mind raced for a way out of this. "Do something besides sit there, will you?"

Chrono looked around him for something to use as a distraction while he made a dash for the entrance. Nothing. The church was gutted clean a while back, leaving not a trace of anything...

Except the heavy metal crucifix hanging from the ceiling by dust and cobweb strewn chains.

A slow smirk spread across his lips at this unforseen little advantage. He called just a small bit of hellfire to his hand, waiting as Joshua took another two steps closer. "If you insist!" He sprang forward, flicking his hand up and out just before hitting the ground and rolling away as bullets were fired off. One grazed along his arm, sending fierce bursts of pain from his smoking flesh, while another took a bite out of his thigh. A heavy, protesting groan of sound alerted him to the crucifix's movements and forced him to his feet to hurry out of the way. He risked a glance back to see Joshua's genuine shock as he too made a dive to safety just as the metal came roaring down, cutting between them with a heavy, scraping thud along the stone.

Chrono wasted no further time and sprinted down the darkened hall, his eyes adjusting easily while he ignored to ache radiating through his leg. Mild cusses sounded behind him, intermingled with the sharp slap of running shoes along stone as Joshua rushed to catch up. A bullet ricocheted near his head, sparking along the stone wall before embedding itself into the ground near his feet. Three more bullets followed this, all of them dangerously close but none of them accurate. Chrono picked up speed as he tried to get himself out of firing range.

The hall moved steadily downward, adding the both their momentum. Three more bullets whizzed by, followed by the heavy thud of a clip being discharged and replaced. At least he knew how many rounds that gun held. Now, all he had to worry about was how many clips did Joshua have with him. A sharp corner veered left, catching him almost off guard as he did a quick twist about to catch it. His momentum carried him hard into the wall, jamming his knicked shoulder enough to cause him to grit his teeth. The air was steadily growing cooler the further they went, which meant they were now probably underneath the actual church itself.

Soon enough, Joshua's footsteps were nothing but a faint echo behind his own. Chrono slowed down ever so slightly, eyes scanning the solid stone walls surrounding him for any indication of where he was. Just because he was going down didn't mean he was going down in the right direction. For all he knew, the underground of the church could be built like the Catacombs in Paris. As far as his eyes could tell in the dimness, there was not even a crack in the walls to break the monotony of stone. It looked like it was a straight shot down the sloping incline as his only option.

It was only a little further down before he could make out something straight ahead that was a slightly darker shade against the rest. He slowed completely as he came up to it, realizing it was the arched entry to a room. He stood outside that deeper darkness, eyes scanning around the entrance carefully to check for any incantations or runes that might mean he'd finally come across the trap set for him. Not one trace of anything like that. The rock was as smooth as the rest of it, completely unblemiched. He hesitated only a moment longer before stepping inside cautiously, his eyes quickly adjusting to the thicker blackness inside while his other senses heightened to give him better aid.

The floor was different than that of the hallway. Softer, both compact and loose at the same time like sand or sawdust. It was most likely sand since he couldn't detect any orders beyond that of blood, recent and old death, a that muskiness that told him Demons were near by. Very subtle traces of powerful aura tingled against his skin, setting his hair on end and making his body more tense for action than it had been before. There was something in here, something powerful, and it was very carefully restraing itself so he wouldn't notice. Air shifted and swirled the further he moved into the room, and equal pressure of those same currents telling him he was somewhere near the middle of the room.

From the darkness, his only clue that he'd finally found the trap was that softly whispered, "_Ligatio"_ from directly in front of him. The room suddenly flared to life, the shadows both fading and growing more stark as blue light began to trace intriquate designs across the floor, rushing toward him like a tsuname wave. Chrono was only able to take one step back from the rapidly approaching runes before the spell slammed into him hard, sending his back arching and a scream of agony from his throat. This was pain. He hadn't felt a physical pain like this in in ages. It didn't leave a mark on his person, but every injury he'd ever sustained was now aching and feeling as fresh as the day he'd received them. Alone, they were nothing, but combined together... It was enough to bring him falling to his knees.

Several gun knicks, the many bullet holes, gashes from clawed hands, fang marks... all of them brought into twisting, hurtful focus as he struggled to remain on his hands and knees in this trap. Foosteps, firm across the sand strewn floor. Blue light reflected off one highly polished black shoe. Chrono twisted his gaze up enough to see that it was, indeed, Asmodius Hendric who stood before him with a cold smile to match the equally frigid blue of the room's only light.

"How does it feel, Chrono, to be brought to your knees by someone of such tainted blood?" the halfbreed taunted. There was no lie between them of friendship now. The submissive behavior from before was vanished under a triumphant smirk he wanted to see ripped from his face. Chrono refused to answer, instead allowing his eyes to make the threat for him; if Asmodius was still alive at the end of this, Chrono would be the one to change that.

Asmodius shifted, his smirk fading ever so slightly at the edges as he realized the threatened promise just made. "You really are in no position to be glaring like that, Devil," he practically growled. "You knew this was a trap the minute you stepped in here, so the only one you should be angry at is yourself." Again, his comments were met with utter silence. The blue-eyed man sighed, rubbing his temples as if he had an unbearable headache. If he wanted a cure for that, Chrono would be more than willing to remove his head for him. "Rosette was very much like this when she was captured. Silent, as if by not speaking she could dismiss me."

"Where is she?" Chrono demanded, unable to stop himself from asking the predictable. Asmodius had seen Rosette, and recently too from the sounds of it. He knew she was alive. He would have felt her death as keenly as he could now feel this pain.

A slight, amused chuckle as the half-breed swiped his hands down the black sleeves of his suit jacket. "It's only natural Rosette would be the one to break your silence. She's fine. Unharmed, but restrained. Though, it did appear for a bit that Belphagor had taken a liking to her. Perhaps when this is all done, he might take her from you."

"He'll die if he touches her!"

"Again, such a natural response. I only said it _appeared_ he was taking an interest in her. Belphagor is too much the sloth to do anything about it."

Chrono shifted a little and was rewarded with a new burst of pain that forced a hiss from his chest. Before that, it had become an uncomfortable burning, but one he was getting used to. It seemed that if he moved, the pain would spike and force him to remain still again. Slowly, he began to run his gaze over the runes tracing the floor and glowing as if written with a phosphorescent light. If there was even one tiny mistake in all that writing, he could use it to break himself free and personally return the favor of pain to his giver. Unfortunately, Asmodius proved his talents once again in the dark arts. The bindings were perfectly layed out and drawn.

Another set of rushing footsteps came from behind, followed quickly by heavy breathing. Joshua had finally appeared, it seemed, and if the slowly growled out shout was any indication, he wasn't too happy with what was going on. "Hey! This is _my_ tag! Back off of him, halfbreed!"

Asmodius gave a benevolent smile, as if Joshua were a simple minded person he was addressing with the utmost kindness. "Go back to your master, boy. This doesn't concern you."

"Like heck it doesn't! He took my sister from me, and now I get to kill him!"

"Obviously, no one informed you to this part of the plan," the half-breed concluded with a heavier drawl to his accented words. The tone implied that the boy was so far below such inclusion that it wasn't a surprise he didn't know. "You've done your part. You drove him here. Now, leave."

The clicking of a safety sounded through the room. "The only two leaving," Joshua replied coldly. "Are you and that filth your protecting. Take your own advise and get outta here!"

It was only a minor shift in the aura of the room, but it would be enough to do the job. "JOSHUA!" The shout had barely left Chrono before the power was unfurled like a whip, striking through the air directly for the human.

A startled scream followed by a heavy thud and lastly by silence was the results of that power surge. Asmodius remained unmoving, his head cocked as if only mildly curious about the results of that. Chrono fought the urge to turn and see if the lack of movement or sound from behind meant Joshua was dead. One move like that, and the pain would eat him up.

Two darker shadows entered the room behind Asmodius, slowly taking shape into the form of Devils. Chrono sucked in a sharp breath at their appearance as well as the overwhelming aura that circled them. It dwarfed anything he'd ever felt before, crushing through the small room and spreading a darkness that threatened to drown out the blue of Asmodius' spell. He knew without asking that these were two of the Seven Sinners. Against one, he stood a chance. Two, though...

"Very well drawn circle, Asmodius," the man with dark eyes said, his voice ringing with a rich accent. To humans, it would carry the promise of riches and fame beyond imagine, as well as the need to aquire as much of it as possible. If gold were to have a voice, it would use his. To another Devil, however, all that voice could ever be was a voice. It held no power over Chrono, but it conveyed it's temptation clearly enough. This was Mammon, the Sinner of Greed. "Simple enough to work, yet intriquate enough to do the job. Your talents surpass even my expectations."

Asmodius offered a humble bow of his head. "Then I trust our agreement still stands?" he questioned without bothering to conceal the hope and greed flashing through his eyes.

Mammon waved a hand elegantly in his direction. "Patience, the agreement has not yet been completed. At the end of the ceremony."

The halfbreed bowed and stepped back, allowing the much stronger Devil forward. The woman with him circled around to one side, her head held high and a sharp pinch to her lips. The blue eyes that regarded Chrono seemed to be measuring him, the flash of disdain striking through their brilliant depths stating that the results of this found him lacking. "I see no reason for me to be here," she announced haughtily. "He's a worm and undeserving to witness my powers. Why did you even bother asking me to accompany you, Mammon?"

"Because, glorious and most wonderful Fierezza, Belphagor was most insistant on watching the girl," Mammon soothed the Sinner of Pride easily. "And, as can be expected, I simply want the best of us in my company. No other can compare to your strengths."

Fierezza preened, her smile stating that she took his words as truth, and had in fact known them true before he'd even said them. "I suppose I can lower myself this once, Mammon. For you."

Mammon tipped his head once in her direction, his black eyes never leaving where Chrono crouched on all fours. "We have your mate," he said, his voice rising as if Chrono were having trouble hearing him. "She's safe for now, but that can change very quickly if you do not cooperate with us."

Chrono growled, glaring his defiance at the ones imprisoning him. As helpless as he was in this trap, he didn't take threats to Rosette lightly.

"A slight thought, and Belphagor can cast her blighted soul back to hell, Sinner Chrono," Mammon added coldly. "Will you listen or continue to play the dog?"

"You're going to kill us, why should I make it easy for you?" he snarled back. It reminded him of what the Demon had said shortly before it's death, and he could only hope those wouldn't be his last words as well.

Fierezza chuckled lightly, flicking her long tail of blonde hair back behind her shoulder again. "Who said anything about wanting you dead? We need you both alive for this to work, you fool. We guarantee your life's safety up until the end of the ceremony. You will not die by our hands until then."

"Not by your hands. An interesting choice of phrasing. Whose hands _will_ we die from then? Not yours... but perhaps the other Seven? Or that halfbreed scum you dirty yourselves with? Or what about Aion?"

The Sinner of Pride bristled, her cheeks darkening with anger at the mention of being associated with Asmodius and his less than pure blood. "_I_ don't have anything to do with that mongrel," she seethed. "He's Mammon's pet, not MINE! How dare you insinuate I would ever be-,"

"Peace, Fierezza," Mammon interjected smoothly. "He chose his words just as carefully as you chose yours. Chrono the Sinner may be many detestable things, but he's far from being a fool, my dear." He returned his attention back to Chrono, giving a cock to his head that was eerily similar to Asmodius' earlier behavior. At that point, Chrono would have bet a healthy part of his power that Mammon had truly been the one to educate the halfbreed in the dark arts. "I swear to you, none of the Seven shall touch you with power or hands. I cannot speak for others in our company, but you are safe from us."

"Safe from power and hands. What about weapons?"

"No weapon shall touch you fatally, either."

Chrono allowed a bitter chuckle at the word games being played. He wasn't nearly as old or powerful as they were, but he wasn't stupid! These tricks of phrase were old ones, used commonly for roping mortals in to selling their souls. He'd seen, heard and used them himself plenty of times in the past to fall for them so easily now. "Not fatally... but a weapon will touch us, won't it?"

Mammon smiled, and instead of being mocking, it was tinged with a hint of respect that Chrono grasped the situation so clearly. "Yes," he answered simply.

"You swear to the Lord of Hell that none of the Seven Sinners will harm Rosette to the point of her dying from those injuries. You swear to me now that Rosette will not die as a result of any harm inflicted to her."

"Until the end of the ceremony," Mammon added. "Yes, I swear that to not only herself but you as well. Blood will be spilt from you both, but none of the wounds inflicted will be fatal. My word."

Chrono's shoulder sagged, his heart dropping with a combination of relief and despair. They had until the end of the ceremony to figure out how to get free. Rosette would be safe until then. An oath sworn to Lucifer himself was binding. To go against it would invite immediate destruction for swearing to the Lord of Hell's name. "Before I accept, what is required of me?" he asked softly.

Mammon's smile edged a little more cold, causing Chrono to shiver and wonder if he was indeed making a choice or walking even further into the trap. "Asmodius will drop the circle. Fierezza will have the extreme honor of placing restraints on you." The choice of wording, as was typical for the entire conversation, was chosen with great care so that the Sinner of Pride didn't see the order being given as an insult to her ego. "Once you're secured, you will come with us to the area where the two gates reside. We'll then wait for the others to join us before the ceremony begins. That is all."

"It's never all," he murmured back, cringing a little when his shoulder dropped and electric slices of pain stabbed down his spine. So long as Asmodius held him here, he couldn't break free. If he refused, he had no doubt that the Sinners would attack and bring him to submission the hard way, which probably meant he'd be in no condition to save Rosette. If he agreed, he would be walked back like a lamb to the slaughter, completely unharmed physically and mentally. He would be in chains, but he'd have all his abilities about him.

Sighing heavily, Chrono lowered his eyes from Mammon, acknowleding his decision. "Lower the circle." If this was the only path to Rosette, he would take it and settle the consequences later.

* * *

Remington was never so glad to be on solid ground than when the airplanes owne by the New York Police Department landed at O'Hare airport. The entire flight had been filled with nervous energy from the militia and few police that were with them, the store of weapons brought from the warehouse making even him anxious around those shakey hands. He didn't want to risk one of the missile launchers suddenly detonating because someone fiddled too much with the devise, thus sending them to their deaths before they'd even reached the church. One of the officers was on the phone with the Chicago police while scrolling a map on his laptop of the city to search for that one church. Unfortunately, there hadn't been time enough for Chrono to show him the map.

It felt good to be standing on a runway, watching and directing the unloading of duffle bags full of weaponry. The Order apparently kept only a third of their armament on headquarters property, the bulk of theise cache being stored on the docks of the city and protected with a barrier set with crosses. It had amused him no end to realize the warehouse was the very same one Rosette had demolished in a defunct mission eighty years ago. Most likely Mary's idea of a tribute and joke all rolled in one. Either way, it had been like Christmas day when Father Thomas Breuwig (the man Mary had sent with him and also claimed to be a right bore) had unsealed that warehouse and revealed rows upon rows of guns with more modified ammunition than he'd ever wish to use in a life time. He would never tell anyone this, but he came dangerously close to giggling in delight at the sight.

The queasiness from the flight over was starting to settle, helped by the reassuring weight of extra ammunition and firearms strapped along his body. It was a bit nolstagic to see blue and white uniforms running about, loading their gear into the police provided SUVs that rolled up to the plane. People were starting to get into the armored trucks, the police padding themselves down as if for a SWAT mission. He didn't feel the need to tell them kevlar did very little against the enemy they were about to face. If it made them more confident, then let them wear tiaras for all he cared.

"Sir, we've received reports of strange aural activity about twenty minutes from our location," a priest called over to him, listening intently to the hands-free communication piece attached to a cell phone. "It's coming from the area of a church!"

"How are we on time?" Remington shouted to anyone and everyone bustling about.

"Almost midnight by my watch," a young officer replied as he helped a nun into the back of a van.

"We have until three in the morning to get this done," he continued, his words spurring a new rush from those around him. "Let's make this quick. Remember, these are not like any Devil or Demon you've been trained to defend against. These are at the top of the food chain. They will use every trick they can to bring us down, so we must stand together in this. Groups of four at all times, never leave without three other people with you! Is that undestood?"

"Yessir!" was shouted back, even from a few of the cops with them, most likely out of automatic reflex for orders being directed their way. A car pulled up to his side, waiting for him and the head of the police force to get in. Remington took one last look around their infinately smaller, and very human, force and let out a sigh. They were out numbered, out classed physically and out powered by their foe. And yet... despite those dire differences between the two sides... he couldn't help the wave of hope that maybe, stacked against these impossible odds, they might actually win.

* * *

Joshua groaned as his brain suddenly decided to wake him up with a killer headache. Little snippets of what had happened to get him like this would occassionally make it through the hazey pain, replacing it with burning anger. Asmodius... he'd never liked that man from the minute he set eyes on him! He knew the halfbreed was lying. Aion would never lie or break his word to him. He'd said that Chrono would bleed and die, and that Joshua would be there to witness it. Which meant, obviously, that Joshua would be the one to kill him... right?

Slowly, he managed to work one arm into place to support his weight. The other one soon joined it, and shortly afterward he was beginning to push his upper body off the dirt floor. It hurt like nothing else, his chest aching from the blast of that damned halfbreed's power and his head screaming at him just to lay back down and forget about the whole thing. He couldn't do that, though. That monster had taken his sister, and was even now coming to take her again. The Seven Sinners had been so kind as to offer their protection, Aion having pled the case for him. Whoever said Devils were without mercy clearly hadn't met any of them.

He managed to gain his feet, leaning heavily against the wall where his blood was drying. He touched the back of his head, fingers experimentally feeling out the sticky injury that was trying to close up on itself. That bastard... He scowled, kneeling down carefully to retrieve his gun and check the ammunition in it. Asmodius would die, too, for getting in the way like that. His eyes moved about the dark room, squinting a little to filter the dim light better. He wasn't surprised the room was empty of all occupants. Asmodius probably took Chrono down to that little cell area that he'd always thought looked odd. Yes, that's what happened, he confirmed when he saw skids through the sand that meant something had been dragged from the room. Something heavy.

With a grim smile and chuckle at the thrill of finally putting a bullet into both his enemies, Joshua ran for the the blackened entry way leading still further down into the cavern he knew the Seven Sinners spent a lot of time in.

* * *

"Ah, look! I was correct after all," the Sinner of Sloth declared with a quick little smile to Rosette. If they were anywhere but in a creepy room with him in full Devil gear and her chained to a cross, she would have probably enjoyed his company a little more. Belphagor had been pleasant and charming since the moment she'd come to and noticed the others were gone. He'd never asked her questions, knowing she wouldn't answer, but he did relax her a little with the constant stream of one-sided conversation. Or, maybe that was just because he was the Sinner of Sloth that made trying to escape suddenly not worth the effort of straining her muscles. "See, my dear girl, here's your loving spouse!"

Rosette's eyes widened briefly in hope, then further in horror as Chrono was indeed dragged into the room by Mammon, chains wrapping him from neck to ankles, forcing his arms straight away from his body... on a cross. He was bound just like her to a cross. "CHRONO!"

_"Shh, I'm fine. Are you hurt?"_ The words whispered through her head carried enough worry to make her gasp. Together, the three Sinners lifted his matching cross into position across from her. Their eyes met and held, his crimson one speaking even more clearly than his words had that he'd been terrified for her. She hoped he understood the look she was returning, the one she hoped said she was okay and was just glad he was, too.

_"Whatever happens, I'm with you, Rosette. I'll always be with you."_

She smiled bitterly at the firmness of that vow, tears slipping slowly down her cheeks. "So, we _are_ gonna die, aren't we?" she whispered, uncaring if anyone else in the room heard her. Not that she really thought they were paying attention to them any longer. They were all too busy discussing things about the opening and what they were all going to do once the world was a big ball of chaos.

His silence as well as the wave of relief he seemed desperate to instill on her was answer enough. He knew they weren't going to live to see the morning. They were going to die on the crosses they'd been so desperate to escape from in Hell. They were going to be sent back to that pit of anguish... and he'd never know that she loved him. She'd never told him before, and now he'd never know. He'd never...

A soft chuckle from across from her made her look up, slightly surprised at the pleasant sound during such a horrible moment. She met Chrono's eyes again, her breath catching at the tenderness she saw there. Had it always been that way, she wondered. Or, was it knew? She couldn't remember if she'd seen such adoration before in his eyes... but she liked it there. Even with everything literally going to Hell around them, that one look from him was enough to make her knees jelly.

"Rosette," he whispered out loud, completely ignoring the others talking around them. "I've known that for a long time. Do _you_ know?"

"Know what?" she whispered back, suddenly finding the task of drawing a normal breath difficult.

"That I love you, and always have?"

Rosette smiled at that, her cheeks turning a little pink. He loved her. He, Chrono, LOVED her. That knowledge didn't change anything at all about their situation... but it took away her fear. She wasn't afraid to die anymore. She'd been afraid before, the first time she'd died, but that was because she'd never known for sure. Now, she knew. And she knew also that love didn't recognize life or death, Heaven or Hell. Love simply was. It existed because it did, and it would follow with her into death because it chose to. No matter what kind of torment her soul would inflict, it would always remember the look in Chrono's eyes and those softly whispered words.

Tears burning her eyes as she forced her smile a little mroe cheerful, she answered back, "No kidding."

Chrono's answering smile was warm and all for her, and brief as their attention was drawn to the entrance of the room by three figures entering. One was a heavily built Devil with slightly bulging round eyes ad a rather flat nose. Where the other Seven Sinners were beautiful to behold, Alimento the Sinner of Greed was not. Behind him came Aira, who looked a little worse for wear and was casting murderous looks at Chrono as she went by. The third... was Aion. His smile was angelically innocent as ever, the snow white of his clothing standing out starkly against the darkness and torch light in the room. He blew Rosette a quick kiss before taking a position toward the back near Asmodius.

"Where are Leviathan and Volupte?" Mammon asked, a frown appearing through his goate.

"At the gates, heading off some Magdalene Order scum," Aira replied irritably. "Volupte told us to come here and start the ceremony without them. They'll keep the army occupied until we're done."

Mammon nodded his exceptance of these words, clasping his hands together before him. "Then, let's not wait any longer. Aira, Fierezza, will you do the honors?"

Rosette's breath got stuck somewhere in her chest as the two women came forward, wearing nearly identical smiles of pure malicious enjoyment as they produced knives from behind their backs. Whatever hope had entered her at the mention of the Order quickly disappeared in the flash of silvery metal coming toward her.

* * *

Remington held a fist up, signaling for the group behind him to stop and stay still where they were crouched outside the cemetery walls. He looked across to the opposite side of the twisted gates that were nearly ripped from their hinges into the eyes of Thomas Breuwig. Thomas nodded at the signal to proceed with caution, motioning his own group forward, sweeping through the cemetery littered with burned corpses and strewn bits of Demon entrails, using the sulfuric smoke left from the hellfire as a way of camoflaging their movements. Guns moved steadily from side to side as they crept closer to the missing doors of the church. There was no doubt in Remington's mind that Chrono was the one responsible for the destruction here. And, through it all, the humans in the city surrounding the church hadn't even batted an eyelash to the violence, most likely because of the massive reluctance charm they'd removed before entering the church ground. It had done well to mask what was really happening, as well as keep the humans blissfully unaware that the end of the world lay directly beneath their feet.

A flashlight cut through the gloom once, then again twice in rapid succession. That was the cue that all as clear and they were free to enter. Remington glanced back at the men and women waiting beside him, signaling to two of the team members to enter first, one to either side of the twisted gates. The two that went forward were police officers from New York, having gotten a special blanket clearance through the city's government to 'capture men of interest in a brutal homicide'. It was a lie... but effective in allowing their new counterparts to join the operation.

Once the two were in place, the rest followed through behind Remington, staying low and using tombstones and half demolished corpses as shelter should they need to quickly duck. Everything was still and silent as only the early mornings can be, but for their particular task it didn't signify anything good at all. Where was everyone? There had been an army of Devils and Demons in Paris. The Seven he knew were preoccupied with their plans, but what of the army? He tapped the side of the com unit to his ear, speaking as softly as he was able to while still being heard. "Father Meilk, respond."

A second went by in which there was nothing but static feed from the sniper squads ranged across the roofs nearby. A few on the parking structure across the street, others spaced across apartment tops and office buildings, all with a clear shot of the church and anything that didn't appear friendly through the smoke. Finally, Father Meilk, the sniper training officer, came through, his grufdd voice seeming even mroe gravelly through the static. "Father Meilk responding, sir. Orders?"

"Remain in position. Be prepared for lost radio contact. In the event of this, orders are to keep one eye on the target, one to the sky. Should the enemy be too powerful, retreat immediately and call headquarters. Do not, I repeat, do NOT attempt a rescue of the ground crews."

"Understood. God be with you, sir."

"You as well, Father." Remington ended the transmission, eyes returning to the flashlight flicking a brief morse code style query. 'Orders?' He lifted his hand, motioning briskly for the point team to enter the church.

Thomas and his company did so while Remington kept his on the outside, covering for a hasty escape should the point team need it. Several tense minutes rolled by and felt like hours as the team scoped the main section of the church. At long last, the 'proceed' code was flashed an soon they were entering the church as well, guns ready and staying crouched should a sudden aerial attack erupt.

The inside of the church wasn't much better than the outside. Hellfire had obviously eaten the door frame and walls to pieces. Dead Demons were to either side in the space where pews were broken, rotting or missing. One was dead and leaving brain fluid over the alter. The cross that used to hanging from the supports in the ceiling was now twisted from obviously being cut or ripped down. Still... no signs of any foe to be met. The line of remaining pews was cleared for not concealing a physical presence and four people were posted by two sets of doors, one person to each side of the entrance in case someone decided to sneak in through there.

Remington relaxed his stance slightly, eyes narrowed as they swept through the ruined church. This _was_ the location. The dead Demons scattered about were proof of that, as well as the obvious hellfire marks to the outside of the building. Chrono would have gotten here long before them, but it was unlikely he'd settled the matter so easily. He could detect a faint amount of aura lacing through the smokey air, the source of which was obviously coming from much further in and below to appear so weak. One of those two doors must lead to a hidden chamber below the existing church, but which one?

"Are you looking for me?" a smooth voice purred from behind them. Guns and bodies whipped around almost in perfect time together, training on the low, rich voice. A woman stood in the door way. Or, rather, a woman Devil if the red leather studded over with metal were any indication. That and the horns protruding from her imposibly black hair.

She smiled, her lips as red as her gear, eyes flickering over every person in the room one by one. Remington's back stiffened when those eyes fell on him, holding his a little longer than the rest. Dear God... He'd never seen eyes like hers before! What appeared to be the palest violet suddenly faded into the deepest blue, closely tailed to a soft grey. All the shades more beautiful than the next, and complimenting the lovely, soft golden tone to her skin. His eyes dropped as if tugged by puppet strings to her curved hips as she took a step forward, the rolling motion of her body causing heat to pool in his stomach. She was feminine perfection itself, and he...

Wanted her.

Remington frowned, shaking his head a little at the lustful thoughts. He wanted her...? For some reason, that idea bothered him and he couldn't begin to imagine why. After all, who wouldn't desire such a wondrous creature as her? Her dark hair streamed behind her, so dark in fact that a faint bluish sheen could be detected in the lights directed on her from the others. It was amazing so much color could bestow itself on one being, and he couldn't help but stare as she continued forward, a soft laugh stroking through the air as guns were lowered at her approach.

She paused by the nearest Order member, a young priest who was sweating heavily, his eyes clearly showing his lust for her. A whimper left him as she traced a finely made claw down his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood in the process. Remington knew the act should have repulsed him, but when that blood was drawn by _her_ hand... The room was suddenly entirely too hot for his tastes. "Do you want me?" she purred, her voice low and so soft it was barely above a whisper, and yet it cut directly through to both the man kneeling before her and Remington just a few feet away. It everything he had not to answer the question himself.

The priest nodded faintly, licking his lips hopefully as another soft laugh, this time of sheer delight, rolled around them all. If skin sliding against sleek, black fur could have a sound, it would be her laugh. Soft, exotic, sinfully...

At the use of that word, the trigger that this wasn't right came pulsing back through his addled mind. This was all off. Even as he couldn't deny how right it felt to want her, something about this was just so very off. It was... confusing. On the one hand, he desired nothing more than to have her smile and laugh like that in his embrace. And, on the other extreme end of emotion, he felt the need to place a bullet squarely between her eyes. The two opposing forced continued to tug him in either direction, to the point where he was oblivious to all else until another voice sounded from behind them. He was the only one who turned at the sound, the rest of the men and women in the room so transfixed by her.

A tall Devil, built wirey thin and with hair that shifted from green to black depending on the shadows surrounding him, glowered from the back of the crowd. "He wants her," the man whispered, the leather and metal of his deep green armor seeming to make no sound at all as he spoke. Not even his footsteps were heard as he seemed to glide directly into their midsts undetected. "You see the way he looks at her, undressing her with his eyes. He'll take her away, if he can. Kill you all and take her for himself."

Remington's eyes narrowed and drifted over to the young priest still enjoying the beauty's light caresses. Yes, he could see it now... That one truly would take her away, wouldn't he? Take her and lock her away so no one could enjoy her. His hand started to rise, intent on aiming his gun directly at the upstart and demanding he take two steps back and away from the lady.

Except... that was one of his men. The priest's name... it was... Nicholas. Nicholas had been just as sick on the plane as he was. He was barely twenty-five, had just taken his vows. Remington shook his head, trying to clear it of that voice and the jealous urges stirring alongside the lust. Envy, lust...

A safety sounding in the stillness snapped his head back up, lips parting a little in shock when he saw one of the police officers firmly plant his gun to Nicholas' head. "Back off now, or I shoot," was growled in a low voice. More guns were turned on the dazed man, who slowly rose from his knees.

The woman stepped back, her tongue dancing a teasing, wet line across her lips that sent a shiver through everyone it seemed. "If you want me, you can have me," she breathed.

"See, he's taking her away even now," the thin Devil continued from behind, his words stoking the jealousy even hotter than the desire. "He's going to take her in his arms. He's going to feel more of her skin against his own. He's going to kill you for trying to know the exact same joys... unless you do something about it."

Snarling, Nicholas raised his gun, pointing it out over those who were now aiming for him. Remington continued to watch, hoping that by not doing anything he could figure out what was wrong with this picture. After all, it wasn't fair that the young priest take her away when it was obvious _he_ was the only man in this group who could possibly handle a Devil...

And that was it. Putting the name of 'devil' to her was it. She wasn't just an exotic beauty. She was a Devil, one of the ones they were sent here to kill. The Sinner of Lust, followed closely by her companion of Envy. The two were working together to bring their forces down from the inside. Slowly, everything began to slide back into focus, being fought strongly against the urges brought forth by the Sinners. Dimly now, he could hear the static voice of Father Meilk roaring for back up, that they were under attack. Everyone in the room had a com unit, they should have been able to hear those cries. The sniper teams were under attack from an army exceding over a thousand Demons, Devils and a few Angels.

The rush of realization was like a cold shower to his system. Suddenly, he wasn't seeing things through lust clouded eyes. The Sinner of Lust was still beautiful, but it didn't have that pull. The Sinner of Envy was still speaking, but the words no longer made sense. Remington raised his gun, aiming not at a quaking Nicholas, but directly at the woman. "Thomas, listen to your com unit," he ordered, his voice cracking just slightly as he continued to push off the effects of the Devils.

Thomas shifted, blinking a little as if Remington's voice were waking him from a dream. Slowly, eyes still on the gorgeous Devil in front of them, he brought his hand to the piece, listening with only mild interest. That mild interest turned into full out horror as the man suddenly discovered what was going on. "Dear God... Everyone, the sniper teams are being massacred!"

A few more eyes blinked, some hands going straight to their ear pieces to listen. The majority though were still focused on 'stopping' Nicholas from taking 'their' desired idol.

Remington took a step toward the Sinner of Lust, flinching ever so slightly when those heated, sultry eyes turned slowly on him, a little smile curving lips that begged him to worship them for hours. "It seems you're not the only man who wants me," she whispered to the young priest in front of her. Remington felt his breath catch as she took a smooth, rolling step in his direction. His head was clear now, focused on the task that needed to be done, but but those sensual movements were doing their best to take that focus back again. God, but he wanted the hand she was extending toward him...

The tinny screams over his ear piece cut through sharply, tightening his grip around the gun more securely than before. "Unless you enjoy the feel of a holy item seering your flesh, you will maintain your distance, Sinner," he said coldly. Yes, no longer having his wings may have made him susceptible to their powers, but he still held enough of his former power to fight it off. He could still feel her power dancing through him, urging him to lower the gun in favor of a passionate embrace, and he resisted it even more strongly than before. He could see her now for what she was; beautiful, but deadlier than any poison known to man.

A shifting of movement made him spare a glance for the sound and noted with mild surprise that Thomas now had his gun trained on the Sinner of Envy behind them. His grip wasn't nearly as steady as Remington's, but the fact that the priest seemed to have snapped from his trance was most encouraging. A few other guns wavered and shifted their aim and dividing their small force between the two Devils. The rest... the majority... stayed thoroughly locked in their lust and jealousy.

The woman's eyes flickered around when she noticed the change in position of a few of her victims. A small, coyly malicious smile curved red lips as she leaned closer to a rather confused looking nun and whispered, "He _is_ very handsome, isn't he? There's almost nothing more sensual than pale hair spread over red satin sheets."

Oh... dear... The sweat that seemed to appear across his skin was _not_ doing a damned thing to cool him off!

"And his eyes, too. Such a beautiful shade of blue. Of course, you noticed this before, haven't you?" the Sinner continued, her eyes on Remington while her voice was for the girl. "And you've noticed how he looks at me, too. You've noticed the way that blue will spark brighter when I move... the way his lip trembles a little if I smile his way... you've noticed his desires are for me."

"But, why should he desire her, a Devil, when he can have someone of God?" the Sinner of Envy interjected smoothly. "It's not fair that he should want _her_ over you. He _shouldn't_ want her. You've made it obvious how badly you desire him. Following him out here, sitting close to him on the plane, taking his orders even though you know they could get you killed. And what does he do? Leave you for a Devil!"

Remington fought the reflex to change aim when the nun, with an angry snarl, snapped her gun around on him.

"Sister Therese, snap out of it!" Thomas shouted, but the girl was too far gone to listen, her eyes glistening with angry tears over her 'jealousy'.

"And why should he have claim to her?" the man behind them continued, his voice now expanding to include any of those still in the thrall. "Typical of anyone who's more than human, take what's most fair and wonderful in the world before anyone else can. He doesn't deserve this prize. He ordered you into this death trap, and now he seeks to take her for his own. Him and all those who are aiding in this. They ALL want her. You can't let that happen."

"Hold your fire!" Remington ordered sharply as their own people began to turn on the few who were no longer listening to the Sinners. A glance around revealed that all of them were pretty much resolved in their bitter anger and very serious about the way they trained his very small support group with their guns. The screaming from the sniper teams was now nothing but grated static. There was absolutely no support for them now, stuck here as they were under their own guns.

The woman's laugh came again, this time purring with dakr triumphant instead of seduction. "That was easier than I thought, Leviathan. I'm almost disappointed," she commented to her counterpart.

Leviathan sighed wistfully and said, "Any longer and we'd have missed the ceremony. Although, it's not at all fair Aira got to have so much fun." This last was grumbled more to himself than anyone else.

Remington followed the woman with his eyes while keeping his gun unfortunately trained on the ones pointing back to him. She brushed by him, placing a kiss to his cheek that nearly turned his insides to liquid fire despite the fact he knew what she was doing. "Have fun here, darling. We're running a little late for a prior engagement." The two Devils disppeared down the entrance to the right, fading into the heavy shadows as if they never existed. Leaving them with a mass of jealous, lusting, heavily armed men and women. Humans, all of them. He'd been so blind sided by the Sinners' powers that he'd never seen it coming. Not that he'd even considered this tactic by their enemy to begin with, but still... He disliked being in a stalemate position with only one move to make but unable to do it because of what it involved. What was supposed to have been a simple covert operation had now turned into a, grudgingly admitted, very clever method of keeping his forces fenced in place. Not at all good considering they were running on a tight schedule anyway. This was turning into a bigger disaster than he'd ever dared to fear.

Why couldn't saving the world for once be a fairly easy task?


	18. In The End

Rosette let out a sharp hiss as metal met her skin. It wasn't painful, and the blade didn't go any deeper than was necessary to make her bleed, but it wasn't exactly her idea of a very good time. Little shallow cuts were placed all over her body, from her shoulders down to her feet. Aira stepped back with a pleased little smirk to her handiwork before licking the bloodied blade with a little moan of delight. Rosette rolled her eyes at the dramatics, her fingers curling into tight fists to try and stop the nervous quivering in her body. Across from her, Chrono was bleeding just as she was, the darker fluid tracing along the ridges of muscles before oozing slowly down his body. The slick feeling moving down her own skin told her gravitiy was doing its job in pulling her blood to the floor below.

"So, what now? Do we just stand here and wait?" Aira demanded, stepping back into the loose circle the Seven Sinners had formed.

"Oh, that's a lovely idea," Belphagor declared with a flicker of his friendly smile. "After all, it makes for a pretty sight to see them bleeding on crosses together, don't you think?"

"They do look rather nice," a new voice purred from the entrance. Two more figures came in, the woman walking with a smooth, gliding roll of hips that made Rosette blush fiercely. She was suddenly very glad that the cuts stung enough to distract her from embarassing thoughts that came up when watching the Devil move into the room. The man behind her was tall and thin with lips turned into a discontented pout.

"Is the Order contained, Volupte?" Alimento asked, popping yet another piece of candy from his pocket into his mouth. He'd been doing that since he'd entered the room.

"Thanks to Leviathan's help, yes," Volupte purred, smiling at the man she'd entered with. "Those few who managed to break the thrall are now captives of their own people. A very clever touch, Leviathan."

Leviathan smiled quickly and shrugged his shoulders. "I just wish I could have had as much fun as you and Aira did," he replied with a quick gleam of jealousy to his green eyes.

Rosette shifted against the chains wrapping her to the cross, wincing as they pressed hard into her skin and pinched where the links met. She watched as one of the cuts bled over the chains, a single drop hanging perilously close to falling to the floor of the underground room. Her gaze slid over as she felt eyes carving holes into her, and saw that the entire room was staring at the same thing she was. That tiny little drop of blood that still hung on for all it was worth to the chain link. Rosette froze in her struggles against the chains, barely even risking to breathe. Gut instinct told her that the minute her blood hit the floor in this room, everything really would go straight to hell.

She turned her gaze to the crimson ones barely even four feet away from her. Chrono gave her the smile she was so used to seeing; gentleness and love tempered down with that thread of sadness she had always wanted to make go away. Before, the sadness had been over their contract and how it was eating her life away. This time around... they had a chance. They _would_ have had a chance, she corrected herself bitterly. She could have taken all the time in the world she wanted to make sure that sadness left and never came back. There was still so much to see and so much she wanted to do... and she wouldn't have that chance. Again.

Rosette choked on the tears burning behind her eyes, felt her lower lip quiver a little as she saw the understanding and sympathy in those sad crimson eyes. Chrono offered her a weak smile, his own eyes suspiciously bright. She had to try twice before her voice came out in stuttered whisper, "C-Chrono? I'm... scared."

"I know, Rosette," he replied just as softly. Two twin droplets of blood were now clinging to the links of his own chains, taunting them as they still held on. Rosette could almost see her own blood from the corner of her eye, catching in the dim light and reflecting back darkly. The Seven Sinners all took steps forward, the aura in the room rising so high that it was like breathing in the humid, sticky air of summer. It pressed against her and made a small sob rise from her chest.

"I don't want to die again!" The sob had forced more blood down onto the links, a second and third drop now hanging on the edge. The first one had more blood fed into it, so impregnated that it was a miracle it still clung to the metal.

"I'm with you, like always." Chrono's blood on the chains was thinning down, the droplets stretched to the point of near breaking. Any second now...

"Chrono... don't look away..." Rosette's breath came in short, uneven little spurts, ones that shook the cross and chains. The blood droplets swung lazily and the aura in the room spiked to the point of being a humming vibration in the air.

Chrono kept his gaze locked with hers, refused to even let her blink. They were frozen for a split second, tears running freely down her face as the terror of dying once more finally took over. She was dizzy without enough air, near convulsing from the horror and how her speeding heart kept from exploding she had no idea. Thin lines of tears found their way down Chrono's face as he still looked her in the eye, his smile reflecting love for her. "I won't ever look away, Rosette."

Their blood fell nearly in unison, hers just a scant second before his. The faint plop of it splattering across the stone floor carried over the throbbing energy pulses from the Seven Sinners. Rosette froze, her eyes wide and her breath lost somewhere in her chest. Everything was still and frozen for what felt like an eternity longer than the few seconds it was.

And that was when the pain came and all Rosette could do was scream with the agony of it ripping into her.

* * *

Remington felt the icy sweat slip down his cheek to become tangled in the high collar of his shirt. The stand off was still in the stages it had been before, his small group of unenthralled troops against a much larger portion of those still locked in the jealous lust the Sinners had created. He had no idea how long they had been standing like this, but it had to be at least an hour now. His arms were numb from keeping the gun as steady as possible, and the slowly greying sky told him the night was quickly fading away. Damn it, they had such little time left to do anything!

"Sir, what should we do?" Thomas asked from his right, eyes still trained on the surrounding gun barrels. "It's about one thirty now."

Remington grit his teeth, eyes narrowing as he quickly assessed the situation for almost the hundredth time since it started. An hour and a half before the end of the world, and he was being held hostage by innocents. Granted, those innocents were nothing more than puppets at the moment, completely oblivious to everything but the emotions the Sinners made them feel...

An idea clicked in his head at that. One that he wouldn't be happy about ordering, but it was the only option he could think of. God, forgive him for this... "Thomas, how good are you at distractions?" he asked quietly, a grim smile twisting his lips. The eyes sighting down a gun barrel across from him were unblinking, completely devoid of anything that said his comment had been heard and acknowledged.

"That depends, sir," Thomas replied firmly. "Do you honestly intend to storm the ceremony alone?"

"Someone needs to stay to direct the militia and see to the injured."

Thomas growled out his disapproval but the tightening to his jaw said the young priest was on board. "Everyone, prepare to fire," he ordered firmly.

"On our own people?" a priest two people away from them demanded in shock.

"Aim for elbows and knees. Don't make it a lethal shot unless absolutely necessary. Sister Helena, try to get us a path to those pews."

"Y-Yes, sir!" the frightened nun stammered.

Thomas sighed heavily as he clicked the safety down on his gun. His action started a tidal wave of clicks among the rest of their small group prepared to fire into the rest of the Magdalene Order. "Ready whenever you are, sir," Thomas muttered.

Remington nodded once, said a quick prayer for those on both ends of the guns and dove forward faster than the barrier of people in front of him had anticipated. His movement brought those dead eyes to life, all of them flashing with deadly intent. Guns exploded around him as he slammed his shoulder through the first two people, his elbow connecting and shattering the nose of a third. Hands grabbed and tore at his clothing as he fought his way through the snarling, enraged crowd of bespelled Order members. Screams from both sides as bullets sank in echoed through as he finally made the final line. Two swift punches to soft guts and a sharp kick to another's chest gave him the clear path he needed for the door way. He broke into a mad sprint, not caring that his main gun was somewhere back in the masses in his haste to reach the ceremony in time. He had a spare still strapped to his chest, plus his sword at his back. He still had no idea what to do once he was there... but first he had to get there.

"He's going after her!"

"Kill him!"

Bullets exploded and chipped off the stone as he dove into the darkness of the pathway. A sharp flare of pain sizzled its way up his leg and caused him to trip briefly, gasping as he caught himself on the rough brick of the wall before he continued on. Every step sent a new wash of pain through the hole in his leg, but he couldn't afford to lose speed, not when everything was so perilously close to burning down around him. His fingers along the stone wall acted as a guide in the darkness and told him when he'd finally come to a wide, open chamber.

Cool air played lightly against the skin exposed through his ripped shirt and felt refreshing against his sweat warmed skin. Footsteps were behind him, mutters coming to his ears through the darkened tunnel. Remington moved further into the room, circling slowly as his eyes adjust to this new level of darkness. There were two entrances in this room, if the air currents were any indication. The one to his left was more still, its opening just a blacker splotch in the dark around him. The one on the right was a little lighter and... warmer. He moved closer to it, back pressed to one side of the entrance as he peered in. It led further down below the church, most likely to a hidden room that the clergy from before hadn't realized was there. A ghastly amount of Demonic aura was pulsing up through this opening, so heavy he felt he could have reached out and grabbed a handful to stuff into his pocket.

Remington took a deep breath and let it out slowly, reaching behind his back for the cross shaped hilt of his sword. The metal was warm in his hand, but the blade remained inactive until he was ready to use it. He moved cautiously into the gloom, his back pressed to the wall and footsteps as muffled as he could make them while limping. All the while he moved, he kept one ear tuned back toward the chamber for any signs that his pursuers were following behind. Nothing but dead silence behind him... but as he moved further, he could hear muffled voices speaking ahead. He recognized a few as belonging to the Seven Sinners, but what they were saying was unclear to him.

The light began to steadily increase in luminosity, bathing the walls in faint, fiery color. The aura now was so thick and heavy it was hard to breathe. Remington saw an entrance way ahead and could tell from the slight view he had that the Seven were formed in a circle in the room, all of their attention focused in the middle of that ring. He could hear two voices now, both of which he knew very well. It practically tore his heart out to hear the naked fear in Rosette's whispered tones. He'd never heard her sound afraid before, not with anything that had happened before or now. Oh, he was certain she'd felt fear but she usually worked so hard to conceal it. The fact that she wasn't was what forced him to move faster, uncaring if his steps were heard at this point. He was almost at the entrance way, his sword flaring to life with a brilliant blue and white flash of holy power, when it happened.

Two screams, the very sound of which made him fall to his knees at the searing agony to the tone. All the aura that had been spreading steadily outward was suddenly sucked back into the room, like a tsunami wave pulling away from shore in preparation for the devastation to come. The screams continued, loud and piercing, as if their very souls were being torn away from their psyche.

And then that wave of power came slamming outward again, rattling along the walls and washing over him so hard and fast that he barely registered his own pained scream before dropping to the ground.

* * *

Joshua smirked to himself, pleased with himself that he'd taken the time to explore the caverns under the church more thoroughly than any one else had. He was certain not even Aion knew of the secret passage way that led to the chambered room below, where the half breed had dragged Chrono away. And wouldn't Aion be so pleased at his cleverness here? Joshua squeezed through the narrow channel way, glad for once of the clammy moisture clinging to bare rock that helped him with this. Every other time, he was repulsed by the moldy smell and wetness against his skin and clothes, but today it seemed even nature was working with him.

He could see the faint creasing of light at the entrance way and caught a faint sight of Belphagor's back. He could see Mammon across from him, both of the looking at something between them. Joshua eased closer, a little surprised no one had heard him yet. Whatever it was they were watching had to be pretty important if they couldn't hear the loose stones he stepped over clank together and echo back through the hidden tunnel way. The air was heavy and warm, like being outside in summer after a really heavy rain. It was uncomfortable, and it was obviously coming from the Sinners in the room. He could now see Fierezza and Alimento clearly, and could guess that the others were all there as well, forming a circle. Just what were they doing anyway?

"C-Chrono? I'm... scared."

Joshua froze at the soft, trembling voice. What... Why was Rosette here, and obviously with Chrono? And why was she scared? He edged forward faster, ignoring the way the rocks cut into his free hand as he struggled to remain steady over loose rocks. Whatever had Rosette frightened, he would take care of. He had to get to his sister and fast!

"I know, Rosette."

Chrono's voice filled him with a scorching anger and made a low growl trickle from his throat. That Devil... He had no business even speaking to his sister like that! How could he possibly understand anything about humans and what they felt?

"I don't want to die again!"

He nearly fell at those words, his own panic finally seeping through the rage. His sister... his beloved sister... "I'm coming, Rosette," he whispered clawing and scrambling through the narrow confines, wincing as the rocks scraped his skin enough to bleed. "Hold on, I won't let you die!"

"I'm with you, like always."

No! No, no, no, no! Not like always! Chrono shouldn't be the one with her, it should be HIM! That was _his sister_ saying all this, and he wouldn't let her die, not with or by that Devil again! Joshua fought stinging tears and choked on his next breath at the thought of losing Rosette again to Chrono. He wouldn't let that happen, not if it killed him in the process. Joshua finally gained the entrance, gritting his teeth against the pain as he finally made it through and stumbled to his knees in the chamber. He froze, gaping up in horror at the sight before him.

Two crosses. Two people on crosses, wrapped in heavy chains and bleeding.

Rosette... bleeding... on a cross.

She didn't see him. She was looking at Chrono and... the love in her gaze... Joshua got to his feet, glaring at the Devil on the cross. Damn him. He had Rosette so firmly under his control she thought she loved him. He couldn't fathom why Rosette would be bound to a cross and bleeding, but he trusted in Aion that, for whatever reason, it was for the best. Maybe the blood was from her struggling to get to her Devil master. They were trying to restrain her so they could handle Chrono themselves. Chrono was killing her again... Just like last time. He had to save her rfom him!

Joshua's eyes narrowed further, hand tightening on his gun. He had enough shots left to do the job well and proper. Chrono was bound down, unable to run away. His arm snapped up, aiming down the barrel toward the exposed chest of the Devil.

"Joshua, no!"

Aion's shout went unnoticed, as did the wide eyes behind flashing glass lenses. Joshua squeezed the trigger just as all the mugginess in the air was vaccuumed into the room and then slammed outward again, pushing him hard into the wall by his secret entrance.

Joshua slid down the wall, the power still pinning him to place with a pressure he thought might make his lungs explode. He winced as he tried to cover his ears, bury his head into his body... anything to escape that God-awful screaming. He looked up and saw his sister's body convulsing on the cross, her eyes scrunched close and face contorted with a pain he couldn't even begin to imagine. And she kept screaming... It was like she couldn't stop!

A bluish-white light, hot against his skin, was flooding the room and swirling so madly he could hear it like a tornado wind whipping around him. Flashes of flame color sparked through this circling mass, those in the room having a hard time standing under the onslaught. The ceiling above began to crack and splinter, allowing int... Joshua gaped in shock as the first touches of soft, golden glow began to become embroiled in the circling wind and light spiraling around his sister and the Devil. His eyes snapped downward at the sharp cracking sound from the ground, blackened smoke hissing as it escaped. A blackish ooze began to pool from the ground, but it wasn't a solid black at all. Bits of violet, dark blue, red... it had colors that only the lights could bring out before it too was sucked into the cacophony of whirling winds and heat.

Joshua watched as these two additional glows were sucked into the powerful vortex that wrapped itself around the Seven Sinners and his still screaming sister. Wherever the two would meet as they spiraled around the chamber, they would snap away with a small, violent explosion that careened off into the room. It was like watching magnets oppose each other, only with far more terrible consequences as they would explode into the walls, ceiling and floor of the chamber. The sharp chips of rock were then sucked into the deadly fray, spinning wildly through the air like mishapen daggers.

He jumped back as far as the wall would allow when a fissure in the floor opened about three feet from him. A hand appeared, dry grey flesh sticking to decaying muscle and yellowing bone. Fingers scrabbled against the ground, working so hard to claw its way free that the rotted flesh was torn away, leaving bare bone to try and find a way out for the rest of the body. More cracks formed, accompanied by more corpse-like arms. Joshua's gaze snapped upward as more screams joined with his sister's. They could do nothing to drown hers out, she seemed to be screaming for her very life. Above, more arms were appearing, cast in a soft white glow and completely whole in appearance. The owners of those arms were screaming in terror at being dragged from above. Joshua swallowed heavily and pushed himself to his feet. So... this was what Chrono's goal was all along. The end of the world. Now he understood why the Seven had bound the Devil _and_ Rosette. They'd been trying to save her from Chrono and his plans. The seething hatred returned as quickly as snapping fingers and gave Joshua a boost of energy to get the job done.

It took a lot of effort, and both hands, to lift his gun again and point it in the direction of the Sinner. Chrono's body was slamming hard into the cross, just like Rosette's, his face contorted in the same agony she was feeling. He hesitated, confusion once again sweeping through him. If the end of the world was Chrono's goal, then why was it obvious he was feeling the pain, too? There was no way anyone could fake the agony he was seeing. It just wasn't possible. Doubts crept in again that maybe he was missing something big about the whole situation... but Aion had no reason to lie to him.

The split second that he hesitated was all the time it took for someone to twist his arm up behind his back hard enough that he felt the sickening crack of bones. Joshua let out his own scream to join the mix of sound, turning his head just enough to see brilliantly shining blue eyes.

"I thought I told you not to interfere, human," Asmodius growled in his ear. The unmistakeable press of a clawed hand under his chin told him that the half breed meant to kill him... and that he very likely was going to die without ever rescuing his poor Rosette. HIs hand closed more firmly on his gun. Fine, he'll die here, but he'd be damned if he was going alone. Asmodius whipped him into the wall again by the grip on his neck, blue eyes flaring brighter in the darkness. Joshua smiled against the choking, tight feeling in his throat. He was now facing the half breed. A big mistake. Slowly, keeping his gaze on the burning one before him, he raised his gun. First, this scumbag. Then... Chrono.

* * *

Remington somehow found his feet again. leaning heavily on the wall just outside the chamber to ease his throbbing leg. The entire room looked ready to burst at any moment it was so full of clashing energies. The cracks in the ground were beginning to shift enough that an earthquake seemed perfectly possible to occur, and more and more pieces of the ceiling were caving in to be violently flung throughout the room. These holes in both ceiling and floor were acting as opened doors into Heaven and Hell, calling some residents and forcing others to leave their home in the afterlife. Wails and sobs of those fortunate enough to go to Heaven inter mingled with the relieved groans of those thankful to escape from Hell. Even in aural form, the lights of both worlds fought each other. Each time Heaven's Light touched Hell's Fire, a sharp spike in the aura was flung through the room and into one of the Seven Sinners.

Those same seven remained unmoving in their circle, their eyes adding their own glow to the room as their aural powers rose with each pulsing reaction of the light exchange. They were sucking down this new power hungrily, like dried sponges put near the very edge of a sink full of water. It was obvious, what with the chaos about to ensue once the doors were opened wide enough, that they were preparing themselves to rule this new world by absorbing as much of that power as they could. It took a good deal of strength before he was able to push against that barrier of otherworldly power and enter the chamber himself. Immediately upon entering the currents, what remained of his own divine energy flared to life. His sword was a piercing blue flash as it became active in his hands. His gun would be useless against the Seven, but a blade made in Heaven would do some damage. The window to inflict that damage was rapidly closing though. He would have to move quickly and accurately to take out as many of the Seven as he could. His sword sliced through the air, sparking fiercely as it collided on a bit of hellish energy as it arced down toward Aira's neck.

Another sword intercepted his, sending little strikes of blue and white into the air. His entire arm vibrated with the impact of that hard block, his eyes following the thin, gleaming silver line up into silvery eyes. Aion's smirk was one of triumphant with a hint of a dare. "I've waited a long time for this, Father Remington," Aion said, his normally soft voice rising to be heard over the rushing winds circling them.

"Odd how I never gave you as much thought all these years, Aion," Remington returned cooly, taking two steps back from the white Devil.

Aion's smile flashed wider, his fangs just as strikingly pale as his armor. "Isn't lying on the list of no-no's for you, Father?"

"It is if one is truly lying. Now, while I would enjoy nothing more than to educate you in theology, I'm afraid this is neither the time nor place for it."

A soft chuckle was his only response before silver slashed through the air and collided with burning blue. Remington grunted from the impact, but didn't give any ground to the pale Devil. Aion flashed him a cruel twist of lips before whirling back and striking again. He blocked it once again, swinging his leg around for a kick that would have hit his opponent squarely in the back had Aion not chosen that moment to move away. Remington used the advantage of Aion recovering his momentum to press an attack, one that caused the Devil to blink in surprise. A small victory, but he would take it all the same. Strokes began to rise and fall steadily, as did the amount of warring aura in the air. The Seven were near bursting now with the amount fo energy they had taken in, all of it created by the three worlds colliding together like this. He pressed his attack more quickly, driving Aion further and further across the chamber in hopes that maybe he could buy himself a little room to at least take one or two of the Seven Sinners out.

"I don't understand you, Remington," Aion commented, watching him with narrowed eyes as Remington shifted just a little closer to the nearest Sinner locked in the circle of power. "Do you honestly think killing any of the Seven Sinners will stop this from happening? It's too late to play the hero now. So long as those two serve as a key in the locks, the doors can't be shut again.

Whatever witty come-back he was about to make died with those words. _So long as those two serve as a key..._ Now, he understood why Rosette and Chrono were still alive. They were two joined as one, in every way possible. _Two souls_ bound together to act as a bridge between the three worlds. A soul only remained on Earth if the body that held it remained alive. If this line of reasoning was correct, then to stop the destruction...

One of them would have to die.

The minute one of their souls broke from the bindings of the flesh, it would sever their ties to each other and the gates would close. God, have mercy... He was going to kill either Rosette or Chrono. For the sake of countless millions of people, he was going to serve as the executioner for one of them. How could he even begin to decide which one it would be?

A shrill whistle of sound told him of the approaching blade. Remington swerved aside, hissing as that blade sliced across his arm sharply. More blood trickled down his arm before being whipped off and into the growing, colorful mass of energy. The dead were nearly free of the earth now, empty holes in their rotted faces for eyes and mouths. The blessed in Heaven were fighting to remain in that light, their flesh turning just as grey and dessimated as the deads' when it left that golden light flooding from the ceiling. Everything in the room was beginning to sway and pulse, like it was the surface of a pool being disrupted from gulping bubbles below. Any minute now and it would break. He needed to finish with Aion quickly, and then choose which one would live and which would die.

His distraction came in the form of a gunshot that cut through the roaring winds and brought Aion skidding to a hault mid rush. Remington turned just enough to see what had gotten the Sinner's full attention. His own gaze widened briefly at the sight of Joshua falling to the ground with Asmodius standing over him, blood dripping from his bare hand. The gun clattered to the ground as Joshua's hand released it, a look of frozen horror on his face as the half breed Devil grinned his triumph from above. That look lasted for only a few seconds before Asmodius Hendric clutched the burning wound in his chest caused by a blessed bullet piercing through. He screamed, blood arching from his lips as he dropped to his knees in pain.

"JOSHUA!"

Aion's violent outburst and blurring speed across the room to the fallen boy was what Remington needed. He whipped himself around, gun aiming into the violently growing storm of power. It was so solid at this point that it began to slash through his skin, tearing thin, bleeding lines across his flesh and pulling the blood away before it had a chance to coagulate and close the wounds. The Seven Sinners were beginning to stir, some of them looking awed at the power while other appeared nearly drunk with it. The minute they broke their circle was the minute everything would implode on itself and come crashing into ruins.

Remington made his decision and prayed that if there was some small chance for a miracle that God would see fit to bestow it upon them now.

* * *

It was nothing but ripping, burning pain. Everything, from her hair to her fingernails, felt like it was being torn apart and crammed back together in the wrong spot. She couldn't think past it, couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. She'd tried to keep thinking of all the happy memories of Chrono, but it became too much for her to even do that. All she could think was his name, repeated in a desperate chant like a prayer sent to God. It didn't ease the pain at all. It felt like her very soul was being crushed and maimed, her heart beating so fast it was impossible to tell where one pulse ended and the next began. God, how long was this going to last?

Her screams stopped at a new pain, one that exploded through her side and out the other. A choked gasp before her mouth filled with blood. The wind stopped completely and everything was slowly growing numb. She could see the Seven Sinners from the corner of her eye, writhing and twisting, their faces contorted in screams that she couldn't hear clearly at all. And her heart... it was finally slowing down. Oh, good... she'd been afraid for a second that it would explode. Funny though, it seemed to be slowing down too much. She blinked her eyes open, surprised to see that the colors she'd perceived through her eyelids was now muted grey and slowly growing fuzzy. Chrono... when did Chrono get free of his chains?

Rosette smiled up at her Devil before her eyes closed.

* * *

"**_ROSETTE!_**"

* * *

The room began to shatter to pieces around them all. The Seven Sinners continued to scream as their bodies began to rot away, turning to fine, greyish ash upon the floor. Remington dove to the side as a large slab of ceiling nearly crushed him uner it's weight. The gates to Heaven and Hell were closing again, and they were pulling back all the borrowed power the Seven had leeched from the chaos, and it appeared that both forces were taking interest on the loan as well. The hole cavern it seemed was getting ready to fall in upon itself, normal flames now leaping from the chasms in the ground to scorch at rock getting ready to fall upon their heads.

Remington pushed to his feet, his gaze falling to where Aion was kneeling over Joshua and what remained of Asmodius' mangled body, half buried under falling rubble. His eyes slid to the middle of the room, to where the last of the Seven was tenaciously clinging to an unavoidable fate. Rosette and Chrono... the ground tilting under his feet threw him to the ground just as he was about to move toward the twin crosses. He struggled to push himself upward, wincing as the bullet wound in his thigh pulsed hotly.

A loud grumbling sound drew his attention upward to the great chunk of the curved ceiling that rumbled to the ground of the chamber. All he could do was gape in horror and roll to the side over jagged pieces of stone as it fell directly on the area where the crosses were situated.

He had little time to process this numbing factor before he was limping as fast as he could for the exit, gritting his teeth and the stabbing pain running up and down his leg. The building foundation pitched and groaned, slamming him into walls as he hurried back up the passage way. The open chamber he'd blindly run through before now was flooded with the pale light of early morning, the light exposing the shadows of the room through a gaping hole broken into the roof. He was almost there now... As soon as he broke into the main worship area, his second wind kicked in and he suddenly found the strength to sprint for the twisted doors of the exit.

He tripped running out, falling roughly down the stairs, his back slamming into a tombstone hard. Remington hissed and began to push himself up when strong hands hooked under his shoulders and began to haul him away. Thomas grimaced, blood caking his dark hair and his shoulder shot out by a few bullets, as he lifted Remington to his feet. "Quick, this whole church is about to go under," the young priest shouted. Together, they half ran and half stumbled to where the rest of the survivors huddled in what they hoped was a safe distance from the growling, crumbling church.

No sooner did they reach safety and welcoming arms than the entire church collapsed in on itself. Dust billowed outward in a choking cloud and flames finally took hold of the wooden items in the church, burning whatever the stone hadn't crushed. For a long time, all anyone could do was stare as the cloud dissipated to reveal to absolute destruction of the structure. The only thing that remained unharmed was the cemetery, its tombstones untouched save for the dust coating them thickly. No one said a word, and barely any remembered to breathe for a few seconds.

Finally, Remington stood up, leaning heavily against Thomas' shoulder. "Radio headquarters. Tell them that the mission was accomplished. Send in a team to excavate the ruins after the fires have burned out." He turned his back on the church and its small graveyard and allowed Thomas to help him walk away bearing the same emotional burden he'd felt for eighty years before this second chance was brought about. Once again, they were doomed to the same fate they had experienced before.

So, he would do the only thing he'd been able to the last time. He would make sure they both received proper burials and that their memory wouldn't fade with time.

* * *

_ONE MONTH LATER..._

Remington glanced up from his desk in the new Magdalene Order facilities at the knock to the door. "Come in," he called, setting aside the mission reports he'd been glancing through before the interuption.

A young nun entered, clutching a manilla envelope to her chest so tightly the stiff paper was wrinkling. Her green eyes were wide to the point that they looked pop from their sockets. "The excavation of St. Michael's Church was just completed, Father," she said softly. "These are the results, but... well... Here, Father."

Remington accepted the packet she handed to him from a shakey hand, opening the little metal clasp to slide out a series of photographs from the rubble. He could tell just by the shapes of the rock pieces that this was the chamber room. It was burned so firmly on his mind that he could have drawn it blindly on a piece of paper. The pictures documented every step of the process, from the before images he'd last seen through the cleaning up phases. With each new photograph, his chest and stomach became tighter and tighter, expecting at any moment to be confronted with the bloody remains of those he was looking for. He frowned, flipping through the photographs once again to be certain. Strange...

"Are these all the photos taken, Sister?" he asked.

"Yes, sir, they are," the girl replied, fidgeting from one foot to the other. She licked her lower lip, eyes still wide and glued on him.

"Then I should thank whoever took them for preserving the dignity of those who perished in that room."

"Sir... it wasn't the photographer, sir."

Remington felt his heart stop for a few unhealthy seconds before hope began to uncurl in his stomach. He had to clear his throat before asking hoarsely, "It wasn't the photographer?"

The nun shook her head once back and forth in the negative. "No, sir, because... because there weren't any bodies to photograph."

"None?"

"None, sir."

A shakey breath was exhaled slowly as he leaned back in his chair. No disturbing photographs... because there were no bodies. Slowly as the hope and relief took over his entire person, he felt his lips begin to curve into a little smile. So... Apparently Chrono had figured it out as well. "So, Chrono, you figured out that your immortality would save her after all," he murmured. A light chuckle escaped from him as he slid the photographs back into their envelope and handed them back to the nun. "Thank you, sister. You've no idea how blessed your news is."

The nun let out her own sigh of relief before leaving his office quickly.

Remington stood up and crossed to the window, staring out over the busy New York skyline at the Hudson Bay. From there, it faded out into open ocean water, a blue so far and wide that the line between the heavens and the water was blurred. A true smile, one that he'd thought was forever dead barely a month ago, surfaced to smooth away any worried lines to his face. "And now, my friends, I can't help but wonder where you're hiding now, and if our paths will ever cross again."

Knowing how much fate liked to reunite certain people, he had no doubt that he would be seeing more of Rosette Christopher and the Sinner Chrono.


	19. Epilogue

_EPILOGUE_

Early evening in Paris was lovely. This was when the city truly came alive, as far as she was concerned. Yeah, it was pretty during the day, but it always seemed just a little cold and too formal for her liking. At night though... Lights everywhere. Warm lights that were man made but added a magic to the city that was undeniable. The lights on the Eiffel Tower turned in from cold metal to something almost out of a faerie tale. Lights along the walk ways, over the bridges. Lights in the buildings that used to be grand palaces and were now used as condominiums and apartments. People came out at night. They laughed and danced and ate. They loved life and were open of it at night in Paris.

Rosette breathed in deeply of the scents around her, closing her eyes as she leaned against the stone railing of the bridge over the Seine River that cut through this beautiful city. She stared down at the dark waters that became a mirror for the lights she loved at night, smiling as she caught the palest trace of her face staring back at her. Here, in this city so in love with life, she could almost forget about nearly leaving this world for a second time. She was just starting to put it behind her, and it had been a really rough road to get to this point. Especially after those first couple weeks, when she kept waking up with the nightmares that it was happening all over again.

But then, Chrono would wake up and encourage her with sleepy words and soft kisses to lie back down. She would fall asleep again with him stroking her hair and reassuring her that he was there, and that she wasn't dying again. Now, nearly a month after it had happened, she could actually believe him. It was his life force, the one that allowed him to live for centuries at a time, that had pulled her back from that darkness. Their wedding, contrived by their enemies to bring about the destruction of the world, was ultimately what had saved her from the fatal gunshot wound. The wound had stopped her heart just long enough for her soul to start to leave. Chrono's power then willed it to beat again, thus drawing her soul back into her body.

Rosette shivered and closed her eyes as those awful thoughts of dying swam over her again. She'd died once, and nearly died a second time. She hadn't been too thrilled at the idea of sharing immortality with Chrono before, but now... If it was selfish of her not to want to die again, then she was a very selfish cookie. Besides, with all the time that had been stolen from them, it was about damned time they got some of it back, right? It was nice to be able to take her time for a change. She didn't have to rush to do something now because she wasn't sure if she'd ever get a chance again. She could explore things she'd never thought to. And, most importantly to her, she could now have all the time she wanted to spend with Chrono.

And speaking of the Devil... She smiled down at him as he handed her a coffee beverage, one loaded with chocolate and whipped cream... and a tiny yellow daisy stuck in the whipped cream. Just as she liked it. She plucked the flower from the cream, wiping the little bit of stem still remain clean with her fingers before tucking it into one of the braids hanging over her shoulders. "You know, if you keep acting this nice I'm gonna start to wonder what you did wrong," she teased.

Chrono chuckled, a faint pink tinting his cheeks. "So, I can't give you flowers or get you coffee?" he teased back, his crimson eyes glittering happily.

"I never said that! Just... don't guys normally do stuff like that if they've done something wrong?"

"Where the heck are you getting _that_ from?"

Rosette shrugged, sticking her straw in and sucking down the first mouthful greedily. she smiled around the straw when she felt his fingertips brushing with hers on the bridge railing. "Oh, you know, the usual places," she commented breezily.

"Which are...?" he prompted, arching one dark brow as a wicked little smile quirked his lips.

"TV... books...those gossip magazines..."

He groaned, covering his eyes with one hand. "You've been reading _Cosmopolitan_ again, haven't you? Rosette..."

"Hey, I can't help it if it's the _only_ magazine I can read here! You picked Paris, so you have to deal with _Cosmo_. Besides, it's not all that bad a magazine anyway." She took another sip of her drink, casting a coy look in his direction.

Chrono's smile faded into a dubious little frown. "Name one thing about it that'll keep it from going in the garbage can tonight," he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

Shooting him a flirty smile, Rosette licked her tongue through the whipped cream, delighting as his eyes lowered to watch, sparking with something much darker and more heated than joy. "That thing."

"What thing?"

"That thing we did last night."

He blinked, eyes widening before his cheeks turned nearly as red as his t-shirt. "Oh... _That_ came from _Cosmo_?"

"Mm-hmm. So, maybe you should stop griping about my magazines."

Chrono shook his head, blinking a couple times before leaning against the railing with her and staring at their reflections in the water. "Wow. Um... sorry?"

Rosette grinned before leaning on closer to him. He obligingly fit an arm around her waist, his lips touching her cheek gently. This was what she loved the most now. Just being with him and knowing that time was all theirs now. They were free from everything but each other really. Then again... they never had been from the start. She shivered when he took her hand that wasn't holding coffee and brought it to his lips, placing little nipping kisses across her fingertips. His eyes watched hers the entire time, that familiar little spark of love showing clearly through the ruby coloring. Rosette's breath was caught in her throat as the small action sent thrills through her spine and set the butterflies free in her stomach. She had all the time in the world for him to do exactly this.

"So, I was thinking... maybe we should elave Paris tomorrow," she said, surprised her voice was working at all as he pressed his cheek to her palm, covering her fingers with his own as his kisses moved down to her wrist. If he continued doing that, she'd be lucky if she could think at all!

"Wherever you want to go, Rosette. We've got the time to do it now. But... can we spend one more day here first? You've barely seen half of what this city has, and it's not like we need to rush off any time soon."

It was a combination of the adoration for her on his face as well as the fact that he was right, she didn't need to rush around anymore, that made her smile and shrug. "Eh, why not? I've got another issue of _Cosmo_ to go through anyway."

Chrono's eyes flared up at the mention of the magazine, which made her grin widen and a snicker break free. "You know... we could always just take these back to the hotel room."

"You mean the room you felt bad about charging to that card-thingie I still had in my pocket?" she joked. He'd been beyond horrified when she'd suggested charging all their needs to Asmodius' banking card. It wasn't like he was going to use it any time soon, and besides that, after all the crap he put them through, he had it coming to him.

"Yeah, _that_ room. The one that's unnecessarily expensive."

"Is not! Nothing's too expensive for my Pooky-bear."

"We don't need two hot tubs, and that's the most horrible nickname ever!"

Rosette began to back away from him, her smile turning sly as she said, "Waddle-bunnikins."

Chrono groaned, dropping his head to the railing. "I take what I said back. _THAT'S_ the worst one to date!"

"Aw, it's not so bad, Shnookie-poo." She jumped back when he turned to her, fighting the smile that was trying to break across his face.

"I'm warning you, Rosette," he mocke threatened.

"Biddly-diddle-kins." She shrieked when he dove at her, grabbing her wrists and pulling her firmly into his arms. Another peal of laughter tore from her when his fingers found her one and only ticklish spot... a two inch spot on her lower back that could send her into convulsive fits.

"Take that back," he demanded, laughing as she squirmed and tried to get away.

Barely able to draw a breath that didn't hiccup out of her, she sniffled as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. "Okay, okay! I give! Jeeze, are you evil!"

Chrono loosened his grip just enough for her to turn and face him, still giggling a little in between hiccups. Those giggles faded when he angled her down that slight half inch needed for him to kiss her properly. Slowly, she relaxed further into the kiss, one of her arms circling his shoulders as she tilted her head just a little more for a better angle. They broke apart, foreheads still pressed together and arms still wrapped around each other.

"Are you ready to go?" he whispered, brushing yet another kiss very lightly along her lips.

Rosette nodded, taking his hand as they walked down the busy streets back to their hotel room. Despite all the awfulness they'd endured to get to this moment, it was worth it a thousand times over in her book. She was happy, more happy than any time in her life that she could remember to this point. Yeah, there were things they still needed to sort out, people they should probably touch base with.

But really, what was the rush when you had eternity to live it?

* * *

In a hospital in Chicago, a young nurse was checking the vitals on a young man, a John Doe, who had been brought to the hospital nearly a month ago. No family or friends had come to claim him, and he'd been found comatose without identification near the burning remains of one of the oldest churches in the city. Because of the Right To Life activists outside protesting, the government wasn't about to remove any of the life support equipment they had on him. It was an election year, and the Right To Lifers held a powerful sway over the officials.

Sighing, she brushed the pale blonde hair from the boys face and shook her head. "Such a pity no one's here to claim a handsome boy like yourself," she murmured. "And about the same age as my son, too. So sad." She hung the clipboard on the foot of the bed, flicked off the lights and left the room for the next one.

If she would have stuck around, she would have noticed someone coming into this room, dressed in a long white cashmere coat against the city's chill air and with glasses that caught the light and reflected them away from his silvery eyes. She would have seen him smile faintly at the sight of the comatose boy before approaching the bed on feet that barely made a sound.

The man leaned over, pressing his lips nearly against the boy's ear. "Hello, Joshua," he breathed out, his voice like listening to a soothing melody carried on a gentle spring breeze.

Blue eyes snapped open at the whisper, wide and staring in shock at the ceiling. The heart monitor documented the change in beat from slow and steady to rapid and erratic in the space of two seconds.

If the nurse would have been there, she would have seen the boy rise from his hospital bed and take the hand of this stranger before the stranger ran for the window, carrying the boy in his arms, and went crashing through the pane of glass into the darkened Chicago sky.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow. The End. I can't believe it. Does anyone care if I cry?

First of all, thank you to everyone who's stuck with me and the long absence in updates. To everyone who read and reviewed, you need to give yourself extra hugs for me. Thank you for the reviews, both the ones praising and the ones offering constructive criticism. I do appreciate having the area pinpointed that need work.

Second, I know it's kinda set up for a sequel. I'm debating about doing just that, but I have to wait for the right plot bunny to come hopping along. For now, just be glad they got their happy ending at LAST. Friggin hell... If ever a couple were to deserve it, it would be these two.

Thirdly and lastly before I say goodnight, I want to mention that I WILL be going through to correct the mistakes made now that the story is written. I tried very hard to keep things as accurate as possible but... My excuse with the bad French is that I haven't actually spoken the language in almost 8 years. To say I'm rusty is an understatement.

Now, a few quick things about the research done for this. Any guns mentioned by name (like M-15 and such) are real guns, but they're military grade and cannot be purchased at ALL. Not that I tried, but I don't want people thinking I'm dropping gun names around because I condone them. I don't, it was just appropriate for the characters and the story. All other weapons are ones I created.

The only three of the Seven Sinners who retained their names as stated in Biblical text are Mammon, Leviathan and Belphagor. Everyone else got make-overs to fit their sex or their description. Artistic licence is the reason for this. Any other demons or devils mentioned are listed in Biblical text though. I think doing the research on devils and demons was perhaps my least favorite part. It was just damned creepy.

Chicago really does have the most churches out of any city in the United States. They do NOT however form a pentagram or anything like that. Pure fiction is what that is.

The description of the Catacombs was taken from my photos I took when I visited Paris. I love that city, which is why it got used for the last bit here. Anything that has to do with the city is pretty much spot on. Except the language, which was discussed earlier.

I know the characters follow the anime ones more closely than the manga, but I did try very hard to incorporate elements from both in here. Rosette was the biggest pain in the ass to merge, but... eh.

Thanks again, everyone, for all the reviews and for enjoying this.


End file.
